Looking to end a barren run of five games without a victory, FC Cincinnati welcome DC United to the TQL Stadium on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the visitors come into the contest aiming to record back-to-back league wins for the first time in over a month.
Match preview
© Reuters
FC Cincinnati suffered a second defeat in the space of seven days following a 3-0 loss to Nashville SC at the Nissan Stadium on Sunday.
Charles Sapong was the star of the show, scoring two goals and setting up another as Jaap Stam's men had no answer to what was thrown at them on the day.
Having picked up 13 points from their first 14 outings, the Orange and Blue are still languishing in the lower echelons of the Eastern Conference table, nine points away from the last playoff spot, albeit with a game in hand.
Things are not looking too good for Sunday's hosts ahead of a fixture which they are yet to win after five previous meetings between the teams.
The Ohio-based club have constantly struggled in attack against this weekend's opponents, managing to find the back of the net just three times.
© Reuters
DC United returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over New York Red Bulls at the Audi Field on Monday.
Ola Kamara provided the game's decisive moment three minutes before the half-hour mark as he expertly tucked away Julian Gressel's pass.
The Black-and-Red now trail CF Montreal, who currently occupy the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, by just a point following their latest win.
Sunday's visitors prepare for another daunting task on the road, where they have not fared well this term, with three-quarters of their 20 points coming on home turf.
- W
- D
- D
- L
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Allan Cruz and Ronald Matarrita are in action for Costa Rica at the ongoing Gold Cup, ruling them out for the home side.
Zico Bailey and Calvin Harris continue to nurse knee and hip injuries respectively and are not expected to play any part in Sunday's contest.
Dutch defender Maikel van der Werff is yet to make his first appearance of the season as he remains sidelined with a hernia problem.
DC United will be without the services of Paul Arriola and Donovan Pines, who are representing the United States at the ongoing Gold Cup.
Joined on the treatment table by Edison Flores, Brendan Hines-Ike is still struggling with a broken hip bone and will also sit out the clash.
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Vermeer; Gyau, Cameron, Vallecilla, Castillo; Acosta, Medunjanin, Stanko; Atanga, Barreal, Brenner
DC United possible starting lineup:
Hamid; Alfaro, Brilliant, Najar; Mora, Moreno, Nyeman, Gressel; Asad, Kamara, Robertha
We say: FC Cincinnati 1-2 DC United
DC United have the edge ahead of the contest, as their history in this fixture should give them the belief that they can emerge victorious. Cincinnati have also struggled on home turf this term, so we cannot envisage any other outcome rather than an away win.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a DC United win with a probability of 42.36%. A win for FC Cincinnati had a probability of 30.56% and a draw had a probability of 27.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a DC United win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.63%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.64%) and 0-2 (7.84%). The likeliest FC Cincinnati win was 1-0 (9.51%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.82%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with an 8.6% likelihood.
