Well my fellow football friends, the time has come for us to indulge in the beautiful game as Major League Soccer is BACK! We have a WIDE range of excellent matchups over the weekend (15 to be exact). However, our focus right now is on the 2023 Supporters’ Shield Champions, FC Cincinnati and their opening matchup against the 2024 MLS Cup runner-up New York Red Bulls.
New York Red Bulls
One word: WOW! That’s the best way to describe the Red Bulls’ incredible Cinderella season that ended with a tragic 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup final. In the offseason, they lost a star player, much like FCC, by transferring John Tolkin to Bundesliga side Holstein Kiel. They did, however, end up signing a new DP striker—Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting from Bayern Munich. The Red Bulls welcomed Raheem Edwards, who’ll be playing the left wing-back position, and Tim Parker, the veteran center-back who played for the Red Bulls from 2018-2020.
The preseason was…unrelenting for the Red Bulls, to say the least. With a record of 2W-2D-2L, one could argue that this team might not be off to a hot start. Their wins came against the San Jose Earthquakes and Hartford Athletic. Draws were with St. Louis and Real Salt Lake, and losses came from St. Louis City SC and San Diego FC (who dropped 6 goals on NYRB).
NYRB and FC Cincinnati met twice in the regular season last year with Cincinnati losing both matches. They had a 1-2 loss in April and a 3-1 loss in July. The 2025 Red Bulls may be looking to gear up for another Cinderella run to the Cup, but they have some strong competition. Their first chance comes this Saturday as they take on FC Cincinnati at home.
FC Cincinnati
FC Cincinnati is back in action after coming off a lockdown 4-1 win against Honduran side F.C. Motagua this past Wednesday in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. If you missed the match, you can check out the recap here! Since it’s been a while and a lot has happened, let’s dive into some of the major moves during the offseason.
During the preseason, FC Cincinnati had three matches. Posting a 1W-2D-0L record, one could argue that they may be off to a very decent start to 2025. Their win came against Montréal with one draw against the Houston Dynamo and another to Atlanta United.
Unless you’re new to MLS, you’ve probably heard of the huge, drama-filled split between Lucho Acosta and FC Cincinnati. Now with Acosta gone, FC Cincinnati looks to make a statement win with some new faces. Over the off-season, they signed Kevin Denkey from Cercle Brugge, exercised their purchase option of Luca Orellano, acquired Lukas Engel on loan from Middlesbrough, and added U22 Initiative Player Gilberto Flores from Libertad.
This new cast of players looks to make a statement win at home against one of their Eastern Conference rivals and 2024 MLS runner-up, the New York Red Bulls. Tune into MLS Season Pass on AppleTV+ this Saturday at 7:30pm EST to check out the action live from TQL Stadium and see who comes out on top!
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