P/I/P Seattle Sounders @ FC Cincinnati - March 11 @ 4:30
Mar 10, 2023 23:20:28 GMT
Zafiro, Holden, and 5 more like this
Post by fuzzy on Mar 10, 2023 23:20:28 GMT
First road game of the season for your first place Seattle Sounders.
One year ago, Cincinnati was coming off their third consecutive wooden spoon and was effectively a joke of a franchise. Last season though, they turned things around led by their new head coach, former Sounder Pat Noonan. Now in his second season with the team, Noonan has this group set as real contenders in the East - or at least that's what the prognosticators believe.
Much has been made about Cincy's front three of Brenner, Acosta and Vasquez. Brenner was the big money signing and in his first season he looked like a flop. Last season he took off with 18 goals in just over 2000 minutes. If he scored at that pace but had a full season workload, Brenner would have won the golden boot.
Luciano Acosta got his MLS career started on a bad DC United team. He left MLS for a couple season and came back to an even worse Cincinnati team. He always looked good on bad teams but now that he's on a good team he looks even better. He led the league in assists last season and at this point in time, there's an argument that he is the best #10 in the league.
Brandon Vasquez is the third head of their hydra and is on the fringes of the USMNT. He was with Atlanta for a few seasons but didn't do much as a miscast winger. Playing through the center, he exploded last season and matched Brenner's 18 goals, albeit in far more minutes.
Despite all this attacking talent, Cincinnati is coming off a rather dull 0-0 with Orlando and it's fair to say the attack isn't clicking like it was last season, though it's being offset by some very strong defensive performances. Cincinnati lines up in a 3/4/1/2 which isn't super common in MLS, though very similar to Seattle a couple seasons back. Anecdotally I feel like we have trouble breaking down 3atb teams so all said this will be a difficult matchup and certainly on paper our hardest match thusfar by a pretty big margin.
On the Seattle side, obviously the team is clicking but the injury bug has already crept up to bite - this time to Heber. The timing isn't horrendous as Raul Ruidiaz is back (though it's not clear if he's fit enough to start).
Prediction: With Cincinnati not quite clicking in the attack and Seattle lacking an in-form striker, this has the look of a 0-0. While that likely implies a dull match, Seattle would feel reasonably happy to leave with a point.
Below is from S@H:
Projected lineups
Sounders (4-2-3-1): Frei; Nouhou, Ragen, Yeimar, A. Roldan; João Paulo, Rusnak; Morris, Lodeiro, C. Roldan; Ruidíaz
FC Cincinatti (3-4-1-2): Celentano; Mosquera, Miazga, Hagglund; Barreal, Moreno, Nwobodo, Arias; Acosta; Brenner, Vazquez
What you need to know
Sounders record (first place): 2-0-0 +6 GD
FC Cincinnati record (fifth place): 1-0-1 +1 GD
Where: TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Kickoff time: 4:38pm PT
Commentators (AppleTV): Tyler Terens and Devon Kerr
One year ago, Cincinnati was coming off their third consecutive wooden spoon and was effectively a joke of a franchise. Last season though, they turned things around led by their new head coach, former Sounder Pat Noonan. Now in his second season with the team, Noonan has this group set as real contenders in the East - or at least that's what the prognosticators believe.
Much has been made about Cincy's front three of Brenner, Acosta and Vasquez. Brenner was the big money signing and in his first season he looked like a flop. Last season he took off with 18 goals in just over 2000 minutes. If he scored at that pace but had a full season workload, Brenner would have won the golden boot.
Luciano Acosta got his MLS career started on a bad DC United team. He left MLS for a couple season and came back to an even worse Cincinnati team. He always looked good on bad teams but now that he's on a good team he looks even better. He led the league in assists last season and at this point in time, there's an argument that he is the best #10 in the league.
Brandon Vasquez is the third head of their hydra and is on the fringes of the USMNT. He was with Atlanta for a few seasons but didn't do much as a miscast winger. Playing through the center, he exploded last season and matched Brenner's 18 goals, albeit in far more minutes.
Despite all this attacking talent, Cincinnati is coming off a rather dull 0-0 with Orlando and it's fair to say the attack isn't clicking like it was last season, though it's being offset by some very strong defensive performances. Cincinnati lines up in a 3/4/1/2 which isn't super common in MLS, though very similar to Seattle a couple seasons back. Anecdotally I feel like we have trouble breaking down 3atb teams so all said this will be a difficult matchup and certainly on paper our hardest match thusfar by a pretty big margin.
On the Seattle side, obviously the team is clicking but the injury bug has already crept up to bite - this time to Heber. The timing isn't horrendous as Raul Ruidiaz is back (though it's not clear if he's fit enough to start).
Prediction: With Cincinnati not quite clicking in the attack and Seattle lacking an in-form striker, this has the look of a 0-0. While that likely implies a dull match, Seattle would feel reasonably happy to leave with a point.
Below is from S@H:
Projected lineups
Sounders (4-2-3-1): Frei; Nouhou, Ragen, Yeimar, A. Roldan; João Paulo, Rusnak; Morris, Lodeiro, C. Roldan; Ruidíaz
FC Cincinatti (3-4-1-2): Celentano; Mosquera, Miazga, Hagglund; Barreal, Moreno, Nwobodo, Arias; Acosta; Brenner, Vazquez
What you need to know
Sounders record (first place): 2-0-0 +6 GD
FC Cincinnati record (fifth place): 1-0-1 +1 GD
Where: TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Kickoff time: 4:38pm PT
Commentators (AppleTV): Tyler Terens and Devon Kerr
