It's the second 2024 Leagues Cup group stage game, and New York City FC are in the Buckeye State to face a shaky FC Cincinnati to see who will top East 1 and face Santos Laguna in the Round of 32. Here is your NYCFC vs Cincinnati preview.
• Leagues Cup Group Stage: FC Cincinnati vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Monday, August 5, 8 pm ET
• Venue: TQL Stadium in Cincinnati
• Forecast: Hot, swampy, and miserable, 90F/32C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Nate Bukaty and Warren Barton (English), Moises Linares and Pablo Marino (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Chris Tsakonas and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Sean Cabrera (Spanish)
It's a battle between two teams that stumbled in July. New York City are winless in their last five matches in all competitions, with four draws and one loss. NYCFC allowed just five goals in that run of games — but only scored four.
Cincinnati have two wins and three losses in their last five games in all competitions, with nine goals scored and eight allowed, but as Laurel Pfahler of Queen City Press told us in "Oppo Research: 5 Things about FC Cincinnati," those wins paper over some significant problems in the squad — not least of which is an injury to Luciano Acosta that kept him out of their Leagues Cup game last Thursday.
To be perfectly honest, not much is at stake in this match: Both New York City and Cincinnati have already advanced to the Round of 32. But this game determines who will win East 1, and face Santos Laguna, and who will come in second, and face the winner of the final East 5 group stage match tomorrow. We get into all the possible scenarios here.
Andrew Leigh
New York City vs Cincinnati H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 18 | 10 |
New York City's historic dominance of the head-to-head overshadows Cincinnati's recent excellence: FCC are undefeated in the six most recent matches between the clubs, with four wins and two draws. Cincinnati not only outscored NYCFC 13 goals to six, they held New York City scoreless three times.
The last time NYCFC beat FCC was back on September 18, 2021, when Taty Castellanos and Keaton Parks scored — and Cincinnati earned two red cards in the dying minutes of the game.
Oliver Strand
New York City FC
• Player Availability: Midfielder Andrés Perea (leg) and forward Malachi Jones (leg) are out.
• Santiago Rodríguez is available after sitting out the first group stage game. According to head coach Nick Cushing, Rodríguez was sidelined with an illness and is back in training.
• Luis Barraza is a lock for the Starting XI. The goalkeeper was the hero of the group stage penalty shootout win over Querétaro FC, and was named by Cushing in the pregame press conference as the presumed starter for the rest of the tournament.
Oliver Strand
FC Cincinnati
• Player Availability: Defender Matt Miazga (knee) is out for the season, and backup goalkeeper Alec Kann (hip) is injured. Midfielder and reigning MLS MVP Luciano Acosta (foot) is questionable.
• Defender Miles Robinson is back with his club after playing with the United States men's national team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
• Will Acosta play? That's the $100,000 question. The talisman was out with a foot injury in Cincinnati's 1-0 win over Querétaro, and Head Coach Pat Noonan might opt to rest a player they'll need as they try to win a second consecutive Supporters' Shield, and take aim at MLS Cup.
• Looking to learn more about this Cincinnati squad? Laurel Pfahler of Queen City Press told us about FCC's recent stumbles, and why she thinks NYCFC are favored for a close win at TQL Stadium. You can read more here.
Matthew Mangam
