FC Cincinnati kicks off again at TQL Stadium this weekend after nearly a month away from their home fans! The Orange and Blue are coming off a gritty road performance last weekend, when they earned a late draw, and are looking to continue their strong home form and improve on their 2-1-0 MLS record in the West End on Saturday.
With action getting started on Apple TV at 7:30 on Saturday night, let’s look at a few key factors to success that The Orange and Blue will need to come out on top in this clash!
Break through Chicago’s backline
Chicago Fire FC have been one of the strongest defensive teams in Major League Soccer this season, conceding just five goals and earning four clean sheets in seven matches. Last season, the Fire earned only six clean sheets total, signaling an early shift in their capabilities.
A standout for Chicago Fire FC this season has been newcomer Mbekezeli Mbokazi, a South African 20-year-old center back who joined the club this offseason on a U22 Initiative Deal from South African Premiership side Orlando Pirates. Mbokazi has logged 628 of a possible 630 minutes in league play and has committed just two fouls in that time. The young defender has already earned praise as being one of the top signings of the winter window, with MLS commentator Dax McCarty saying:
“Mbokazi could have the highest ceiling of any signing this winter. His physical profile is perfect for an MLS center back. Even if he's slightly undersized, he's got tremendous athletic gifts in terms of aerial ability, recovery speed and ability to win challenges. You can leave him 1v1 with dangerous attackers and your team higher upfield to re-press because of his ability to win duels.”
(The full story on that and other players can be found here.)
If FC Cincinnati, who currently rank seventh in the Eastern Conference in goals scored, want to continue their strong performances at home, they will need to find a way to break down the Chicago defense and get on the scoreboard. Otherwise, Chicago’s ability to hold opponents off will allow them to control the game's tempo.
Contributors Everywhere
FC Cincinnati will be without leading goalscorer and Designated Player forward Kévin Denkey this weekend when they take on Chicago Fire FC due to the red card he earned last weekend in Toronto. The one-game suspension that comes with the red card will be served this weekend, meaning FCC will need to find contributors elsewhere to secure victory in their return to TQL Stadium.
Denkey has only two goals in league play this season (which still leads the club), but has cashed six across all competitions early in 2026.
Fortunately for FC Cincinnati, there is an array of players this season who have already scored for the club in MLS action and are capable of stepping up in a match to fill that potential void. Eight other members of The Orange and Blue have already scored this season, with each contributing a single goal to total. Notably, forwards like Ayoub Jabbari and Tom Barlow each have a goal to their name, but so do defenders Nick Hagglund and Kyle Smith. Midfielders Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela, Pavel Bucha and Ender Echenique have all also added to the goal tally.
Pat Noonan specifically highlighted how young players like Valenzuela and Kenji Mboma Dem will be factors in the attack this weekend with an opportunity there to prove themselves.
“We've talked about it this week, just with Kevin's [Denkey] suspension and how do we want our attacking structure to look like to begin the game? Personnel, balance, all of it and Dado [Gerardo Valenzuela] missed the time from his suspension, and I think lost some game minutes there, but Kenji [Mboma Dem] has done a really good job with his minutes, and so, both of them have been talked about pretty consistently as far as options,” Noonan said Thursday.
While not a goalscorer yet this season, midfielder Sami Gidi has also been a significant offensive contributor, earning a team-leading three assists, including one in each of FCC’s last two games.
“I love to contribute, and when the team is struggling everyone always tries to find ways to continue to do more,” Gidi said after FC Cincinnati’s training session on Wednesday. “Maybe my contributions are more than normal right now, but whatever helps the team we all will do. So the more the better, and I just try to do my best.”
Keep 11 men on the field
A trend FC Cincinnati will likely need to stop on Saturday in order to find success against Chicago Fire FC is keeping all 11 men on the field for the duration of the match. For four matches in a row, FC Cincinnati have taken a red card and been forced to finish the match down a man. The red cards also create future problems, as ejections from the match lead to a one-game suspension, hampering the available selection for the next fixture as well.
The reasons for the red cards have varied in every match, but the problem persists.
“The biggest concern is this is four games in a row now where we don't finish the game with 11 men. That's a discipline issue, and whether it's frustration on an individual level or collectively, that can't carry over into affecting the team to finish the game,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said after last weekend's match against Toronto FC, where Kévin Denkey earned a red card.
The solution to the problem isn’t exactly clear, and simply not taking red cards would certainly be a start. But Pat Noonan says he sees the problem as more of an overarching issue they need to solve, with red cards being a symptom of it.
“A lot of it's with messages. Sure, you could show the plays, you could show the moments, but it's helping players in the group understand discipline. We can talk about it all we want. We've talked a lot about tactics. We've talked about discipline, expectations, accountability, all of it. But if you don't learn from it, it doesn't mean anything. We won't progress, and I still have the belief that we will,” Noonan said.
“It's clearly been a variety of different reasons and players why we've gone down a man. But it's also a sign that if we're a collective in how we play and how we think and how we act and how we hold each other accountable. There'll be a lot of good days ahead of us, but we have to stop talking and see more action with a lot of things that have been addressed,” Noonan continued. “Until that all happens, we'll just have to keep digging ourselves out of holes and that's not the approach (we want to be) taking. It's not to dig ourselves out of holes, it's to create advantages and be able to play the game in a more positive way.”
FC Cincinnati kicks off with Chicago Fire FC at 7:30 on Saturday night at TQL Stadium. For more information on how to watch, or for matchday information at TQL Stadium all season, click here.
