FC Cincinnati and the Philadelphia Union will renew their rivalry Tuesday night when the two match up for a Round of 16 fight in the Leagues Cup.
FCC comes into the matchup undefeated in Leagues Cup, and only a few days after a penalty kick shootout win over Liga MX side Santos Laguna.
In that matchup, FCC was the overwhelming favorite to win the game going in, and looked mostly the part for the majority of the game. Chidozie Awaziem had a very early mistake which saw FCC go down 1-0, but other than that, FCC had the changes of the game.
This game from FCC came down to more that it wasn’t able to finish all of the chances it had more than it was outplayed.
Lucho Acosta also finally made his long-awaited return to the team in the second half, and it still looked like he was hampered by his injury. He was not the elusive magician that we know he can be and that doesn’t bode well for FCC’s chances. They will need him at his very best if the team wants to go as far in the Leagues Cup and MLS Cup as its ambitions.
However, Miles Robinson also made his return to FCC to partner with Awaziem and the two looked good together, but it will be interesting to see how they perform against a decent attacking side in the Union.
The Opposition
FCC will come up against the Philadelphia Union, a team that has had an up-and-down season in many ways.
Right now, the Union are on one of its best stretches of the season, having won four of its last five matches, its only non-win coming from a 1-1 penalty kick loss to Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.
That streak comes with a 1-0 win over Charlotte FC, a 5-1 win over the New England Revolution and a 3-0 win over Nashville SC.
As seen above, that streak has come thanks to the Union’s improved defense and finishing. Tai Baribo scored both goals in its Round of 32 win over CF Montreal and Dániel Gazdag scored a hat trick in the Nashville win.
However, the Union’s defense has been even more important. In the eight matches since the beginning of July, the Union have allowed two or more goals only twice, against the Chicago Fire on July 3 and Toronto FC on July 13.
FCC will be up against a significantly more confident team compared to the one it beat 4-3 on June 19, and because of that, it will need to be at its best if it wants to advance to the next round.
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