FC Cincinnati travel south to the Sunshine State to take on Inter Miami CF Saturday night. Kickoff from DRV PNK Stadium is set for 8 p.m. ET.
HOW TO WATCH:
Local TV: Star64
Local Stream: fccincinnati.com
Out of Market: ESPN+
Radio: Fox Sports AM 1360
Talent: Tom Gelehrter (play-by-play), Kevin McCloskey (analyst), Alex Stec (sideline)
Be sure to follow @FCCincinnati on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for live updates from the match.
SCOUTING INTER MIAMI CF (10-15-5 – 35 pts – 11th, Eastern Conference)
Miami entered Wednesday’s midweek action losers of six consecutive matches where the team was outscored 16-1. The Herons responded Wednesday with a 3-0 win at home against Toronto FC, starting with an early 10th minute goal from Federico Higuaín and never looking back. Manager Phil Neville switched up his lineup Wednesday, without two high-priced Designated Players in Blaise Matuidi and Rodolfo Pizarro in the starting XI, something to keep an eye on for Saturday.
Federico’s brother Gonzalo Higuaín leads Miami with 10 goals and six assists. Like FC Cincinnati’s No. 9 Brenner, Miami’s Lewis Morgan is one of nine players across Major League Soccer to have started and played in 30 or more games this season.
STORYLINES TO WATCH
SUNSHINE WOES – FC Cincinnati seek a first win against one of the Florida clubs, having gone a combined 0-6-2 against Orlando City SC and Inter Miami CF since joining MLS, including 0-3-0 against the clubs in road matches. But the club does have success in the state; this season the Orange and Blue went 2-0-0 against CF Montréal at DRV PNK Stadium (May 22) and Toronto FC (June 26) at Exploria Stadium, and won a pair of matches last year in MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando against Atlanta United FC and New York Red Bulls.
COULD GET PHYSICAL – FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF have each accumulated 70 yellow cards this season, tied for second-most in MLS only behind the 72 given to the San Jose Earthquakes. Miami has also been issued four red cards this season, tied for second-most in MLS behind New York City FC’s seven.
LUCHO LEADING – Captain midfielder Luciano Acosta finds himself at the top of the list in several categories for the best season in FC Cincinnati’s young history. The club’s all-time leading assister now has seven goals, which is tied with Brenner (2021) and Allan Cruz (2019) for most in a single season. He’s also one shot on goal shy of both of those players for most SOG in a season (21), and his 60 corner kicks taken trails Haris Medunjanin’s 2020 single-season high mark of 65.
