In a clash at the top of the table and a chance to clinch a playoff spot for the fourth year in a row, FC Cincinnati host Philadelphia Union at TQL Stadium on Saturday night in a match that will surely catch the eye of all of Major League Soccer.
With the loss a week ago at home to NYCFC, The Orange and Blue are looking to reestablish themselves in multiple ways this Saturday night. A priority is to return to strong form at home and earn all three points, as FCC looks to continue improving as the playoffs approach. With Philadelphia in town, though, the opportunity to leapfrog the current Eastern Conference leaders is there for the taking.
FC Cincinnati enter this match down two points in the Eastern Conference table to Philadelphia, so a victory would put The Orange and Blue back in the lead of the Conference with just five games to play in the regular season.
"(I) expect a very intense game, physical game, fast-paced game. They've been consistent with play, results, (they're) in good form and it's a good challenge,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said Thursday ahead of the match. “I think, defensively, when you just look at the eye test and then the actual data, they're one of the more aggressive teams, if not the most aggressive team, with how they step to the ball. With the ball, I think there's been a good balance of when teams are stepping up, how they'll play direct, but how they'll play through, how they'll play around. They can still move the ball. I think their combination play with one touch, two touch to be able to break pressure, really run at speed to goal has been evident. And when teams aren't stepping up, they can move the ball, they can get the ball into wide areas and be very efficient with how they can get service into the box and runs in front of goal."
The opportunity is also there for FC Cincinnati to clinch a playoff spot for the fourth season in a row on Saturday night, as a victory over Philadelphia and a New York Red Bulls loss or draw would secure their spot.
With so much still possible for FCC in the final six games, including a Supporters’ Shield crown to chase, clinching the playoffs has not been the biggest goal on their mind. But when the moment comes, and they secure their place in the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, that is an achievement the squad plans to celebrate and use as extra motivation.
“While it's not the goal just to get in the playoffs, I still think it's a credit to the guys at this stage to potentially make that a reality,” Noonan said of the possibility of clinching a playoff spot. “We won't worry about other teams and scenarios. We have to focus on our play and specifically performing better at home – that hasn't been the case in recent weeks. That's our focus, but if we're able to perform the way we'd like and get a result, then, you know, that's certainly a positive.”
“It's hard to, year-after-year-after-year to be a playoff team. I think history and the data will show that. But that's been our expectation, and I hope that becomes a reality soon here and again, that's credit to the consistency of those guys on the field.”
FC CINCINNATI vs Philadelphia Union – Saturday, August 30, 2025 – 7:30 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
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Versus Philadelphia Union
The Union come to Cincinnati for their 9th visit all-time and their seventh in regular season action. In those seven regular season games, five of which have been at TQL Stadium, FC Cincinnati own a 3-2-1 record. The history of games between these two clubs at FCC’s home grounds does include though a MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference Semi-Final victory in 2023, and a 2024 Leagues Cup Round of 16 defeat.
The last time FC Cincinnati played Philly they fell 4-1 in the match at Subaru Park. The last time The Union came to TQL Stadium for a regular season match The Orange and Blue earned the 4-3 victory.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
Historic Run – The Orange and Blue are on the verge of the MLS Cup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Only FC Cincinnati, the New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, LAFC and Real Salt Lake qualified in each of the three seasons between 2022-2024.
FC Cincinnati are one win shy of becoming the first team in MLS history (post-shootout era, since 2000) to earn 55 wins over a three-season stretch. They are currently even with the LAFC teams of 2022 to 2024 and the Atlanta United teams of 2017 to 2019 for the most victories in a three year period in MLS history with 54.
Welcome Aboard! – Four FC Cincinnati players joined the team over the summer – and three will make their club debut in their first appearance. Target forward Ayoub Jabbari (on loan from French club Grenoble), winger Dominik Marczuk (U22 Initiative on loan from Real Salt Lake) and U22 Initiative midfielder Samuel Gidi (transfer from MŠK Žilina of the Slovakian First Division).
Brazilian striker Brenner is now in his second stint with the club, joining on loan from Italy’s Udinese through the end of the season with a purchase option.
The third-leading goal scorer in club history (27 goals), Brenner last appeared for the club on May 6, 2023 at TQL Stadium against D.C. United. He last scored for the team on March 11, 2023 vs. Seattle Sounders. Brenner scored 18 goals in the final 19 games of 2022 to help clinch the club's first MLS Cup Playoff berth. He was the September/October 2022 Player of the Month, a three-time Player of the Matchday, and has netted a club record three hat tricks.
One Goal Wins – Saturday has the opportunity to determine the front runner of the Eastern Conference as second-place FC Cincinnati (52 points) host first-place Philadelphia Union (54 points).
Four of FC Cincinnati’s six remaining matches in the 2025 MLS Regular Season will be at TQL Stadium and three of the four remaining home matches, including Saturday night, come against teams who enter Matchday 31 ranked in the top-four in the Eastern Conference: Philadelphia Union (August 30), Nashville SC (September 13) and Orlando City SC (September 28).
Getting the Call – On Monday, FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano was named to U.S. Men’s National Team Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s 23-man roster for the upcoming September FIFA International Window. The call-up is the fourth for Celentano as he awaits his first cap.
Celentano and the USMNT will gather in New Jersey for a training camp ahead of two matches against 2026 World Cup-bound opponents Korea Republic at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey (Saturday, Sept. 6 – 5 p.m. ET) and Japan at Lower.com Field in Columbus (Tuesday, Sept. 9 – 7:30 p.m. ET).
SCOUTING Philadelphia Union (16-6-6, 54 Points, 1st in the Eastern Conference)
Philadelphia Union has been, perhaps, the surprise of the 2025 season based on media predictions and projections from the start of the year. Once forecasted as a team likely to finish bottom of the conference, Philly has continued to prove those doubts wrong and have been one of the best sides in MLS this season.
With 54 points, they sit at the top of the Eastern Conference and are in the hunt for their second-ever Supporters’ Shield. For FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan though, this success is hardly a surprise.
“I think that's why the predictions mean nothing. That's what people are going to do to drive conversation and give their opinion on the current state of a group with a coach, with players, with movement, all that stuff. So it means nothing. They've been very good all year,” Noonan said of Philadelphia on Thursday ahead of the match. “It's because, I think, Bradley [Carnell's] come in and in a challenging moment got them to a place where…they've progressively gotten better.
“There's a lot of players in that locker room that have been a part of successful teams prior. So they're built to be able to figure things out and have success. You mentioned Jakob [Glesnes], Kai [Wagner], Andre [Blake], Alejandro [Bedoya]. There's a lot of pieces in that group that have had a lot of success in previous years, so this is not new to them. And overcoming adversity, similar to how we've done it in different times and how we just talked, about that's nothing new to them. So, yeah, I'm sure they didn't care for the predictions, and most people don't pay too much attention to it. If it's motivation, great, but you know what you have internally, and you know what you have to do to improve, and they've done a good job of that."
The Philadelphia roster has been one of the most consistent of the season, with key players standing out in multiple ways. Striker Tai Baribo leads the way on the team with 16 goals, and outside back Kai Wagner leads the team with 10 assists. Quinn Sullivan, a 21-year-old midfielder, has also been a standout young star this season, earning two goals and nine assists in 24 games.
The defensive side of the ball, though, is where Philly’s strategy really allows them to excel. With a core of defenders with both veteran experience and youth, Philadelphia is able to put teams under pressure with their defenders and force teams into their own end. The duo of Glesnes and young center back Olwethu Makhanya (21), lead that effort from the back.
“Both are strong on the ball in playing under pressure,” Noonan said of the duo of defenders. “I think both also have a good sense of how to eliminate risk, and you know, play forward in ways that it allows their attacking, that front line, to run a channel or to challenge for a direct ball. You know, I've worked with Jakob, his ability to advance with the ball is very good.
So understanding the angles of pressure to break that pressure, we have to be mindful of. (He) plays a good ball over distance so you know, he can see different passes, good range of passing. But the two of them together, I think, are very good at reading and working off of each other, reading plays, knowing how to step off the line, and knowing how to cover for each other. Physical presence with both of them. So they've been very strong together, and, you know, certainly a big part of their defensive success, but also with the ball in how they initiate their attacks.”
With Andre Blake out injured, Philadelphia’s keeper situation is a little more fluid than it otherwise would be. Andrew Rick, 19, has been the keeper of choice for Philly and started their most recent match against Chicago Fire FC where he earned a clean sheet. Rick has also made regular starts for the MLS NEXT Pro side in addition to being the backup for the first team.
Head Coach Bradley Carnell, in his first season with the club, has shown formational flexibility at times but most often deploys Philadelphia in a 4-4-2 formation.