Roman Celentano and Evander put on their capes and rescued a huge three points for FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night. The Seattle Sounders are coming to town this weekend and an FCC win and along with the right combination of other results could propel the club into a top four spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sounders come in with the worst form in the league, and the Orange and Blue will look to push their losing streak one match further.
Seattle Sounders
Seattle are coming to Cincinnati mired in the longest league losing streak in their history, which currently sits at eight matches. The Sounders last win came all the way back on May 13th, when they beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-2.
The biggest issue facing the Sounders has been the amount of players out injured. Seattle currently has eight players listed as out for Saturday’s match, including USMNT member Paul Arriola, U22 player Nikola Petkovic, and three of the Sounders top attackers: Jordan Morris, Jesus Ferreira, and Pedro de la Vega. de la Vega made his 2026 debut against Querétaro in the Leagues Cup, but it was revealed after that match he might miss the rest of the season with a significant quad pull.
The injuries among the front line has led to a lack of offense from the Sounders. Seattle has scored the second fewest goals in the entire MLS, 21, which is only two more goals than Sporting Kansas City. The leading goal scorer for the club is Paul Rothrock with five goals.
Despite all the injuries the Sounders are still one of the best defensive teams in MLS. The Sounders are tied for sixth in goals allowed with St. Louis City at 26. Seattle’s stout back line will definitely be put to the test against the high powered FC Cincinnati attack.
FC Cincinnati
In their last match, with just a minute left in stoppage time, FC Cincinnati scored the winning goal. The three points were needed to put some distance between FCC and the bottom of the playoff standings. The win also moved FCC closer to potentially cracking into the top four in the East, which would see them hosting of a best of three first round in the playoffs.
The last two league matches for FCC have looked a little different. The FCC offense has not looked like the one that is tied for the lead in goals scored amongst MLS clubs. They were held to a 1-1 draw down in Orlando last weekend, and if not for a great goal by Evander, at the death, it would have been consecutive 1-1 draws.
The defense has appeared to make some progress starting with the Leagues Cup matches. The club has allowed five goals in their last five matches, in all competitions, but there is still room for improvement. Celentano had to make seven saves, including six in the second half to lead FCC to victory.
With their win on Wednesday night and a slumping Seattle team headed to town this weekend FCC have a really good opportunity to pick up another win and maybe even a clean sheet which could give them some real momentum going forward.
Predicted Lineup:
This is essentially the same lineup FCC played against Orlando City and it was much improved when it came to defending. Samuel Gidi slides back into CB and Pavel Bucha and Obinna Nwobodo can continue to control the Midfield.
With how anemic the Seattle attack has been this lineup might be able to keep an elusive clean sheet.
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