• Matchday 20: FC Cincinnati vs New York City FC
• Date and Kickoff Time: Wednesday, August 19, 7:40 pm ET
• Venue: TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Forecast: Humid, overcast, slight chance of a thunderstorm, 75F/24C
• Watch: Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Chris Wittyngham and Lori Lindsey (English); Ramses Sandoval and Miguel Gallardo (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matt Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Sean Cabrera (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Fotis Bazakos (referee), Cory Richardson and Andrew Bigelow (assistant referees), Atahan Yaya (fourth official), Michael Radchuk (VAR), Cameron Blanchard (assistant VAR)
• Kit: New York City will be in the sky-blue Excelsior Kit; Cincinnati will wear its Legacy Kit, which features dark-blue and orange
Two teams separated by one point and one place in the MLS Eastern Conference table meet on a warm summer night at TQL Stadium, as seventh-place New York City FC visits sixth-place FC Cincinnati.
New York City is on a three-match losing streak that's all but canceled out the four-match unbeaten run the club went on coming back from the World Cup break.
Injuries have pushed new players into the lineup, while injury recoveries and fitness deficits have limited the available minutes certain key members of the squad can play. It's a bad mix at this point in the season, given that three-match weeks are the norm, and given that NYCFC begins its post-Leagues Cup schedule by facing three Eastern Conference rivals in quick succession.
The first Eastern Conference clash ended as a loss to Philadelphia Union on Sunday night, and it might have been the nadir of the season, at least so far, with Pascal Jansen's team squandering a two-goal lead at halftime to lose 3-2 at Yankee Stadium.
NYCFC twice squandered two-goal leads when they last played Cincinnati, at Yankee Stadium on April 22, a match that ended as a 4-4 draw after Evander equalized with a penalty kick in the 95th minute.
Cincinnati has been solid if unspectacular since the World Cup ended, with impressive home wins over Vancouver Whitecaps FC, San Jose Earthquakes, and Pumas UNAM, the last taking place in Leagues Cup. Conversely, they've also lost the Hell Is Real Derby at Columbus Crew, and they failed to advance from Phase One of Leagues Cup by losing their third and final match, a 2-1 defeat to Atlas FC at home in a game they led 1-0 until the 79th minute, also a game in which any positive result would have put them in position to advance to the quarterfinals.
They don't lose often at TQL Stadium, 10W-1D-3L with a +24 goal differential (46 gf/22 ga) across all competitions in their home matches played there so far this season. Though New York City FC might like its chances, given they're unbeaten in their last two trips to TQL.
New York City FC H2H Record vs Cincinnati
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 30 | 12 |
