FC Cincinnati to host Nashville SC on Saturday

FC Cincinnati rests atop the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer and is slated to host the East’s No. 3 Nashville SC on Saturday. In what will make a quick turnaround from Wednesday’s dramatic 2-1 win over New York Red Bulls, head coach Pat Noonan returns to the sidelines as well as a handful of Cincinnati players.

Last time out, back in March, FC Cincinnati stole a 1-0 road victory in Nashville following a goal from the boots of forward Brandon Vazquez. Cincinnati and Nashville have been two of the strongest teams in the MLS over the course of the last year, making intense, dramatic soccer a given when the two meet.

Cincinnati (14-6-2) stands 10 points above Nashville (11-5-7) ahead of the game.

Vazquez, Miazga return to Cincinnati

Because the United States Men’s National Team bowed out of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the semifinals on Wednesday, FCC stars Vazquez and Matt Miazga return to the squad after missing five consecutive games for the blue and orange.

In that span Vazquez’s role up front was filled primarily by a rotation of Dominique Badji, Yuya Kubo, Sergio Santos, with Badji even bagging in three goals during the stretch. Miazga’s role at the heart of defense was covered by a combination of Yerson Mosquera, Ian Murphy, who got two red cards in Miazga’s absence, Nick Hagglund, and Alvas Powell.

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“We’ll assess where they’re at (Friday) morning, but I know as a group we’re excited to have them back,” Noonan said, “(we’re) disappointed they couldn’t go a game further (in the Gold Cup), but we’ll assess the situation and we know we have two really good options now rejoining the group and available for Saturday.”

Neither Vazquez nor Miazga played a full 90 minutes in the U.S. loss on Wednesday, leaving a bit of optimism that lengthy appearances are in the cards for Saturday’s game.

Personnel changes all around

Despite Cincinnati gaining two players, one, maybe two, more names will miss the contest. Badji is injured and not available for selection Saturday, according to Noonan, while Kubo’s availability is “up in the air” and day-to-day due to a minor injury.

FC Cincinnati has fielded 20 different starting lineups in 22 MLS games this season.

Cincinnati’s availability and outlook on its strikers essentially changes at every blink of an eye, with injuries and come-and-goes happening constantly throughout the summer. One certain striker is available and ramping up steam ahead of Saturday, though: Aaron Boupendza.

“We had a good four-day push with him leading up to (Wednesday) where he had a day off to get his legs back and hopefully adjust to the time zone, sleep schedule, and all of that,” Noonan said of Boupendza. “You can see some quality in some of the things we were doing (in training), going to goal, and then at times fatigue setting in with the conditions out there and where he’s at physically.”

FCC fans have been eagerly and (semi) patiently awaiting the arrival and first appearance of Boupendza, and Cincinnati’s collective dreams might come true on Saturday.

Deeper on the pitch center back Ian Murphy returns from his red-card suspension, which he served during the game in New York.

Nashville SC will be without some pieces as well; midfielder Aníbal Godoy remains on international duty with Panama, and starting fullbacks Shaquell Moore and Daniel Lovitz both received red card suspensions on Wednesday.

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“We’ll anticipate what we think could be their replacements, maybe a different look in the formations, just so we’re prepared for different things,” Noonan said of Nashville’s lineup shuffles. “The reality is: those are the guys that have been starting every game. And now it’s going to be two different players either out of position or maybe not in their most natural position or maybe in a different look in terms of the system. We’ll look at that and try to best prepare our group.”

Nashville on a rough spell

Nashville, amidst all the changes to its lineup, lost four of the last five games dating back to the middle of June. Those road defeats to Columbus, Montreal, Chicago, and most recently Philadelphia all contribute to Nashville’s less-than-ideal 3-5-3 away record. Nashville was held goalless in all four of those losses, as questions around Nashville’s attacking prowess, bar reigning MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar, have come to question.

Mukhtar is by no means struggling on the offensive this season, with 13 goals and 8 assists, but Nashville has scored 30 goals as a team, meaning just nine have been without Mukhtar’s direct involvement.

Chance creation wasn’t necessarily an issue in Nashville’s Wednesday contest against Philadelphia Union, in fact the post was hit a couple of times and a goal line save was required on one of Nashville’s 19 shots. Both of Philadelphia’s goals came from penalty kicks, while Nashville left Philly with a pair of red cards to render a sour taste in the mouth of Nashville.

Regardless, Noonan anticipates a competitive, intense game, as is the case every time the two teams square off on the pitch.

“When you have two teams that have been at the top of the table, or near the top of the table, for a longer period of time, the games feel a little bit different,” Noonan said. “(Nashville) is a very consistent group in how they play and the experience that they have, the ability to go win games, so we look forward to the matchup.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: MLS Preview: FC Cincinnati set to host Nashville SC on Saturday