FC Cincinnati is back in action for the 2026 season and hit the road for the first time in this new year, making their way to the Land of 10,000 Lakes for the first away match of the MLS regular season
Kickoff for the match is set for 4:30 p.m. and fans can watch the game on Apple TV and listen locally in English on The Project 100.7 FM and 101.5 FM La Mega in Spanish. Let’s look at some stats and figures that may factor into this road match, all presented by CTI.
20 (+ 1)
Minnesota United FC is under new leadership this season. Former Head Coach Eric Ramsey, who took over as bench boss in 2024 through the 2025 season, was hired away by EFL Championship side West Brom just days before the start of preseason and thus left the club with a bit of a conundrum.
Newly named Head Coach Cameron Knowles, who was an assistant on Ramsey’s staff, has taken over for 2026 and continued the work done by his predecessor over the last two years.
Under Ramsey, The Loons were the most dynamic and dangerous team in the league on set pieces – scoring a league high 20 goals from set pieces in 2025. That part of their identity has remained under the new head coach as one of Minnesota’s goals in their 2-2 draw with Austin FC came off a set piece.
Handling set piece moments against Minnesota United will be critical to success.
52
In his MLS debut, newcomer Bryan Ramirez made himself known in a big way. Earning an assist and being a central part of the team success FCC found for themselves in the attack. Ramirez, 25, also led the team with 52 passes from open play in the 2-0 victory over Atlanta United and earned a 88.46 percent completion rate on all his passes from open play. His performance against Atlanta prompted praise from FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan, describing him as a top performer on the night.
Repeating that kind of performance would go a long way to repeating the result from opening day.
18/9
FC Cincinnati was the second most fouled team in the league in their opening match of the season and committed the fifth fewest fouls in the league at the same time. With 18 fouls suffered, FC Cincinnati was just two behind the most impacted team in the league (Houston) and nine fouls committed made them one of the cleanest sides on opening day.
Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela was the most impeded player for FC Cincinnati on opening day of MLS action, getting fouled five times. Samuel Gidi was close behind him with four. The five fouls against Valenzuela is the second most in MLS to this point in the season, with only Charlotte FC’s Wilfried Zaha getting a sixth foul called against him.
Minnesota United FC, in their opening day match against Austin FC, was on the opposite end of the FC Cincinnati spectrum. The Loons committed 16 fouls (tied for fifth most) and suffered 11.
2
After finishing 18th last season in goals and shots from inside the box, FC Cincinnati scored both of their two goals from inside the box on Saturday versus Atlanta and took all nine of their shots from inside the box as well. Last season FC Cincinnati was second in MLS for goals scored outside the penalty area and third in shots taken from distance as well, but in their season opener The Orange and Blue did not record a shot from outside the box.
The difference in approach, while still early and with a very small sample size, is interesting as FC Cincinnati leadership talked frequently this offseason on the topic of revamping the offense for the 2026 season.
20…or worse
We could be in for a chilly one on Saturday in Minnesota, with projected temperatures in low 20’s around match time it could be one of the coldest matches in club history. The current coldest temp at kickoff is 22 degrees fahrenheit when FCC took on Chicago Fire FC on March 18, 2023 at Soldier Field. The second coldest and coldest home game in club history was last season on February 22, 2025 when FC Cincinnati hosted New York Red Bulls with a 30 degree temperature at kickoff.
