The 2023 Major League Soccer season continues on Saturday as Orlando City welcome FC Cincinnati to the Exploria Stadium.
Both these teams won their opening games of the campaign last weekend and as a result, they sit eighth and sixth respectively, in the Eastern Conference table.
Saturday night's fixture presents an opportunity for the winner to put a real marker down on the early season standings by recording two wins from two.
Match preview
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Oscar Pareja's Orlando got their season off to a winning start last weekend with a 1-0 win at home to New York Red Bulls. A penalty from 17-year-old forward Facundo Torres midway through the second half gave City the win.
Torres was Orlando's star player last term, recording nine goals and eight assists from the right wing, and the Uruguayan can equal a club record on Saturday of being involved in a goal for six consecutive matches, a feat that Sacha Kljestan and Yoshimar Yotun both achieved in 2018.
Orlando's recent home form is impressive - City have won five of their last six such matches, including four of their last five in the 2022 campaign - and a sixth win in seven in front of their own fans on Saturday would represent a solid start to the season.
Indeed, a triumph for the Florida outfit on Saturday will mean that they would open a season with consecutive victories for the first time since 2017.
City beat New York Red Bulls last week despite only having one shot on target in the match, which was their winning goal. They also allowed their opponents to have 14 shots on their goal, so Orlando may need to improve their statistics in both attacking and defensive areas if they are to come out on top against Cincinnati.
Scoring goals was a problem for Orlando last season with their tally of 44 being the joint-third worst in the Eastern Conference.
If they are to finish higher than last season's seventh-place finish and go further in the playoffs than the first round, then they will need better numbers collectively and from Ercan Kara - the Austrian was City's top-scorer last term with 11 goals.
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Pat Noonan's Cincinnati also opened their 2023 season with three points at home - a 2-1 victory over Houston Dynamo came courtesy of goals from striker Sergio Santos and holding midfielder Obinna Nwobodo.
Cincinnati finished last season in terrific form, losing only one of their last six matches of the 2022 campaign, with four of those games being wins, so last Saturday's triumph means they can record their sixth win in eight league games against Orlando this weekend.
In contrast to their opponents on Saturday, Noonan's side had no issues in front of goal last season - their tally of 64 strikes was the second-highest in the Eastern Conference behind Philadelphia Union. Losing in the playoff semi-finals after their fifth-placed finish last season will have stung and they will hope to at least have another crack at the MLS Cup Playoffs this term.
Cincinnati will aim to build up some early-season momentum by recording their second victory of the campaign against Orlando on Saturday.
The Knifey Lions' away record last season will give them confidence ahead of the meeting with City - the Ohio outfit were the fourth-best away team in the Eastern Conference last term with six wins and four losses in 17 games.
The six-game unbeaten run away from home that they ended the season on was the longest in their history and part of a sequence of just two defeats in 14 matches on the road, which is the joint-fewest defeats in the division since the streak began in April 2022; The Orange and Blue will be aiming to spark a similar run with victory at the Exploria Stadium on Saturday.
Noonan's side are unbeaten in their last three games against Orlando and did the double over them last season, including a 2-1 victory in Florida in March, a spell which has immediately followed a run of five games without a win against their fellow Eastern Conference side.
Last season's wins give Cincinnati the chance at the weekend to equal a club record for consecutive victories over an opponent and match the three wins they achieved against CF Montreal from 2019 to 2021.
The Knifey Lions will look to Luciano Acosta for inspiration on Saturday - the Argentine midfielder once scored a hat-trick against Orlando whilst playing for DC United in 2018 and has assisted three of the four goals that Cincinnati have netted against them since his move to Ohio in 2021.
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Team News
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Oscar Pareja has a fully-fit squad to choose from ahead of the meeting with Cincinnati, so Orlando are likely to line up in their usual 4-2-3-1 system.
Last weekend's match-winner Facundo Torres will start on the right wing, and he will be tasked with providing support for Ercan Kara in the lone striker role.
Dagur Thorhallsson may earn a starting berth in the number 10 position after coming off the bench in the opening game.
Club captain Mauricio Pereyra will protect the defence alongside Cesar Araujo despite being substituted in stoppage time against New York Red Bulls.
Cincinnati will be without left-back Alec Kann who has a leg injury, so Alvaro Barreal will start in his place.
Club captain Luciano Acosta will support the front pairing of Brandon Vazquez and Santos whilst Nick Hagglund, Matt Miazga and Yerson Mosquera will make up the back three of Noonan's 3-4-1-2 system.
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Halliday, Schlegel, Jansson, Petrasso; Pereyra, Araujo; Torres, Thorhallsson, Angulo; Kara
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Celentano; Hagglund, Miazga, Mosquera; Arias, Moreno, Nwobodo, Barreal; Acosta; Vazquez, Santos
We say: Orlando City 2-2 FC Cincinnati
Saturday's match should be a closely-fought encounter between two teams of similar standing. Orlando's terrific home form and Cincinnati's momentum from last season suggest that a high-scoring draw is a likely outcome.
How to watch
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Top tip
Ollie Hawthorn
