PREVIEW | FC Cincinnati wants to secure victory in the first round in the game against Citi Field

The new MLS Cup playoff format brings a peculiarity to football that can rarely be called standard, and definitely makes for interesting games in Game 2. It is rare for a team to play twice in the same week plays, let alone five times in a season, but that's exactly what will happen this Saturday when FC Cincinnati travels to New York City.
With a win in Game 1 at TQL Stadium, FC Cincinnati can secure a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight year with a win on Saturday. FC Cincinnati has never played a playoff game at Citi Field, but knows they're in for a fight this weekend given the circumstances.

Both teams obviously know each other. I think the more you see certain things, the better you understand what to expect. “It's not a guarantee of success, but you can see how close this game (one) was,” FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said Thursday. “Both teams are pretty familiar with each other and that's why I hate to, you know, be cliché and say that the gaps are small and that they're little things, but there were a few things that, looking back, I think “We have to adapt to be better positioned and to perform well in the second game.”

Since NYCFC was the losing side in the first game, a reasonable logic is that they need to make an adjustment to win. But as in any good game of chess, predicting an attack and adapting before that move comes can be an excellent countermeasure.

“Having just played the game and analyzed it, there are some things we need to be prepared for, changes on their side and then a few ideas we have so that the game doesn't become so predictable,” Noonan continued from Mercy Health Training Center on Thursday morning. “If we think we need to make one or two adjustments … those are certainly things we're preparing for and hopefully enabling us to not be predictable with our approach.”
A notable point about this game is the location. The last time FC Cincinnati faced NYCFC, the game was played at Red Bull Arena, home of the New York Red Bulls and the third of three preferred venues for NYCFC. This game will take place at Citi Field, the second most popular venue behind their most common home stadium, Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Citi Field, home of the MLB's New York Mets, features special dimensions to accommodate the smaller playing area of ​​the baseball diamond. The game at Red Bull Arena was of fairly typical proportions, but Citi Field's pitch is known for being narrower than most other stadiums, creating a unique playing situation.

“You have to consider the dimensions because the pressure arrives in a different way,” Noonan explained. “If you look at how they pressure at home and away, it's a little bit different. We have to be prepared for that. But we expect an even more challenging game because we are playing in their place.” “

This week, FC Cincinnati simulated expected field conditions by marking off a smaller area for work with cones during practice. Given that FCC last played at Citi Field in September 2022, there is no guarantee as to the quality of the playing surface in New York.

FC Cincinnati vs. New York City Football Club – Saturday, November 2, 2024 – 5 p.m. ET – Citi Field

Electricity: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

TV Talent (English, Apple): Chris Wittyngham (PxP), Lori Lindsey (Analyst)
TV Talent (Spanish, Apple): Oscar Salazar (PxP), Jamie Macias (Analyst)

Radio (English): Fox Sports 1360

Radio (Spanish): La Mega 101.5 FM

Radio Talent (English): Tom Scholar (PXP), Kevin McCloskey (Analyst)
Radio Talent: (Spanish): Gustavo Luques (PXP), Jose Romero (Analyst)

Be sure to follow @FCCincinnati TwitterInstagram and Facebook for live updates from the game.

The clash with NYCFC will be the fifth time FC Cincinnati have met them this season. The FCC won all three games at the TQL Stadium, but in the last game (a trip to New York) the FCC lost 2-3.

However, this game will be played at Citi Field and not Red Bull Arena, marking the first time since 2022 that FCC has visited the quintessential New York Mets' home park. The Orange and Blue have only played one game at Citi Field, a late September matchup in 2022 in which FC Cincinnati secured a 1-1 draw against NYCFC. In this game, FC Cincinnati scored its only goal as an own goal in the 22nd minute from a back pass near midfield.

Close games – FC Cincinnati posted a 14-6 (.700) record in games decided by one goal this season. This season's 14 one-goal wins are tied for the third-most in MLS's post-shootout era, and it comes a season after the FCC's 14 one-goal wins in 2023 were the third-most in MLS history, behind the 18 of the New England Revolution 2021 wins. FCC holds the MLS record (since 2000/end of the Shootout Era) for most wins in one-goal games in two consecutive seasons: 28.

The next most games with a win since 2023 were Seattle Sounders and New England Revolution with 17.

Lineups So Good They Used Them Twice – In 42 games across all competitions participating in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, FC Cincinnati has not repeated a positional lineup once. In fact, the same 11 players – regardless of position – had not played in the same starting XI once this season.

That lasted until Decision Day and the first game of the first-round best-of-three series, when Cincinnati finally repeated a lineup. It was also only the sixth time that a defensive line (TW, 3 central defenders, 2 full-backs) was repeated.

Milestone moment – FC Cincinnati captain Luciano “Lucho” Acosta enters Saturday’s game with 149 appearances in all competitions for FC Cincinnati. His next game will make him the second player in club history (Yuya Kubo) to appear in 150 games for FC Cincinnati.

New York, New York – Game 2 marks only the clubs' second ever meeting at Citi Field, the first taking place on September 7, 2022 and ending in a 1-1 draw. The Orange and Blue are 1-5-1 all-time away from NYCFC, with their only win at Yankee Stadium being a 3-1 victory in May 2023

Big Apple – On Wednesday, Luca Orellano was honored with the 2024 AT&T MLS Goal of the Year award for his stunning free kick goal against CF Montréal on August 31. At 79.81 yards, it was the longest free kick goal since MLS began tracking the statistic in 2010. It is the second year in a row that an FCC player has won the award, after Lucho Acosta won the award in 2023 for his solo goal on September 23rd against Charlotte FC.

Scouting NYCFC (12/14/8, 50 points, 11th in the Eastern Conference)

This is the first time FC Cincinnati and NYCFC will face each other in an MLS Cup playoff series. Nevertheless, these two teams have hardly been strangers to cup competition in recent years. The two met earlier this season in the Leagues Cup, where FCC emerged victorious, and again in the US Open Cup in 2023, where FCC also won 1-0 at Yankee Stadium. This Game 2 clash will also be the fifth meeting between these two clubs in 2024, with a possible sixth coming up for Game 3.

NYCFC missed the playoffs in 2023, but made it in each of the previous three seasons and won the MLS Cup in 2021. This was the first season since NYCFC's inaugural year in 2015 that they did not qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The New York squad was led offensively this season by two outstanding players. Santiago Rodriguez was the engine of the attack, starting 32 games and scoring 12 goals and 10 assists. Costa Rican star Alonso Martínez leads the team with 16 goals despite starting just 19 games this season. The international had a breakout season in 2024 after playing just 30 minutes last season, but only joined the club in August following a move from Alajuelense.

In goal for NYCFC is standout goalkeeper Matt Freese, who, although not a finalist for Goalkeeper of the Year, was on the shortlist for most of the season. Freese started every regular season game for NYCFC this season and only failed to play all 90 minutes of a game once when he was sidelined due to injury. He made 121 saves and conceded 45 goals, for a save rate of 72 percent.

Defensive midfielders James Sands and Keaton Parks were instrumental in NYCFC's success in 2024, each completing over 87 percent of their passes. Defenseman and designated player Thiago Martins (who goes by the nickname “Thiago”) leads the team in passes, with 2,034 passes completed and a completion rate of over 90 percent.

Head coach Nick Cushing is in his third year leading NYCFC as the club's top boss. Prior to his appointment as manager in 2022, he served as an assistant from 2020 to 2022. However, Cushing is a long-standing member of the “City Football Group”, the organization that includes NYCFC and, specifically, Manchester City in the English Premier League. Prior to his appointment in the United States, Cushing was head coach of Manchester City's women's team from 2013 to 2020, which is his only other coaching role.

The last time NYCFC and FC Cincinnati met, New York used a 4-2-3-1 formation, but varied that shape at times. In their last game, a 2-0 loss to CF Montréal, NYCFC used a 4-3-3 formation and continued to use a 4-4-2 formation as recently as September. When NYCFC came to Cincinnati in March, they used a 3-4-2-1 formation most of the time, but have mostly abandoned it, using it only once since March 31st.