When in-form Columbus Crew take on FC Cincinnati at the Mapfre Stadium on Sunday evening, something will have to give with kickoff at 2:30 am.
Columbus Crew, who had just been humiliated 7-0 at Philadelphia Union before appointing Wayne Rooney as their new manager, fell behind twice in their draw at DC United on Wednesday evening.
Cucho Hernandez scored an excellent goal for his new side just a week after joining from recently-relegated Watford in England, providing his new side with the lead in the capital.
Despite surviving a conceded penalty inside the second 45, Caleb Porter’s side were pegged back 10 minutes from time after significant amounts of pressure throughout the match from DC. However, Hernandez netted his second of the night and third goal in two games just a minute later before Ola Kamara denied Crew all three points in the second minute of injury time.
At the time of writing, visitors Cincinnati find themselves two places above their hosts in the league standings. The Orange and Blue have already surpassed their points tallies recorded in their opening three seasons in the MLS, following an excellent start to the 2022 campaign.
Pat Noonan’s side may have won just once in their past eight fixtures, but they do find themselves in the middle of a six-game unbeaten run following draws in five of their last six outings, including four on the bounce.
Columbus Crew vs Cincinnati Head to Head
Both sides have eight games against each other with hosts taking two wins while visitors with three wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- DC United 2-2 Columbus Crew
- Chicago Fire 2-3 Columbus Crew
- Columbus Crew 0-0 Philadelphia
- Toronto 1-2 Columbus
Away
- FC Cincinnati 2-2 Vancouver
- FC Cincinnati 1-1 NY Red Bulls
- Cincinnati 2-2 NER
- FC Cincinnati 4-4 NY City FC
Columbus Crew Team News
Columbus have a full squad to choose from for Sunday’s game against Cincinnati, with Jonathan Mensah returning from his one-match suspension and Milos Degenek set to return from a late fitness test which ruled him out of Wednesday’s match. This will allow Gregg Berhalter to use a 3-man defensive line again.
FC Cincinnati Team News
Star playmaker, Luciano Acosta, will return to the starting lineup for D.C. United on Sunday after serving a suspension against Vancouver in midweek. Allan Cruz should also immediately return to the starting 11 after serving a suspension of his own for the draw with Vancouver, but Ronald Matarrita and Dominique Badji remain sidelined through injury.
Prediction and Odds
Both sides have found themselves on the scoresheet in recent weeks, so we expect an open and entertaining game this Sunday.
- Draw
- Double Chance
- Both Teams to Score
