Absent wins, discerning progress in soccer can be a nebulous thing.
There's little question FC Cincinnati has improved recently, but one of the club's best-ever runs of results – a 2-0-1 record during a recent three-match road trip – occurred away from the club's new venue, TQL Stadium.
In fact, all of FC Cincinnati's wins and draws have come on the road, including the season-opening draw against Nashville SC and a victory against CF Montreal in May. That makes FCC arguably the best road team in the MLS Eastern Conference. But absent the same progress and performances on home soil, the club is 3-5-2 overall and sitting in 11th position in the East.
FC Cincinnati supporters now want to see the progress and continued good form with their own eyes at TQL Stadium, where FCC has played just three times this season, scored twice and lost all three matches.
FC Cincinnati is one of two clubs in the league without a home victory this season (Inter Miami CF is 0-4-1 at DRV PNK Stadium), and FCC will attempt to correct that in Friday's "Hell is Real" rivalry match against Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m.).
More:FC Cincinnati prepares for Columbus Crew: 'It's gonna be a big game for everybody'
The match is one of the most unpredictable during FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam's tenure at the club.
Through injuries and Concacaf Gold Cup call-ups, Cincinnati and Columbus could see up to 16 combined players miss the match.
Some star power will be lacking from the match. At the same time, players with the ability to alter the game remain: FC Cincinnati will have all of its regular starters except for Costa Rican internationals Ronald Matarrita and Allan Cruz.
That means Luciano Acosta (two goals, one assist), Alvaro Barreal (three goals) and center back Geoff Cameron (two assists) can still introduce themselves into Hell is Real lore.
The game also stands as a marquee opportunity for Brazilian forward Brenner Souza da Silva, who hasn't scored since the April 17 season opener from the penalty spot, to return to his scoring ways in what would be memorable fashion.
The Crew will be without leading goalscorer Gyasi Zardes, backup forward Bradley Wright-Phillips, starting goalkeeper Eloy Room and others, but will still likely feature a starting lineup including Darlington Nagbe, designated player Lucas Zelarayan and Pedro Santos, who scored a memorable, deciding goal for 2-2 in the first-ever league match between the clubs.
Regardless of which side emerges on top, or if the game ends in a stalemate, Friday promises to be a memorable occasion at TQL Stadium.
The stage is set for FC Cincinnati to make it their memory to cherish.
The Game
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday | TQL Stadium, Saturday
TV/Radio/stream: Star64/ESPN1530-AM/fccincinnati.com
Series info: Columbus leads the all-time series against FC Cincinnati with three wins from seven matches (3-2-2).
Odds: FC Cincinnati is favored to win, according to BETMGM.com.
Enquirer prediction: FC Cincinnati 2, Columbus Crew 1.
FC Cincinnati
Record: 3-5-2; 11 points, 11th in Eastern Conference
Goals for: 10
Goals against: 18
Coach: Jaap Stam – second season as FC Cincinnati head coach (7-18-6)
Projected starting lineup:
Kenneth Vermeer (GK)
Edgar Castillo, left back
Gustavo Vallecilla, center back (left)
Geoff Cameron, center back (right)
Joseph-Claude Gyau, right back
Yuya Kubo, midfielder
Haris Medunjanin, midfielder
Luciano Acosta, midfielder
Isaac Atanga, winger
Alvaro Barreal, winger
Brenner Souza da Silva, striker
Columbus Crew
Record: 4-3-4; 16 points, 9th in Eastern Conference
Goals for: 11
Goals against: 9
Coach: Caleb Porter – third season at Columbus Crew
Projected starting lineup:
Evan Bush, goalkeeper
Harrison Afful, right back
Vito Wormgoor, center back
Jonathan Mensah, center back
Waylon Francis, left back
Perry Kitchen, midfielder
Marlon Hairston, midfielder
Alex Matan, attacking midfielder
Darlington Nagbe, central midfielder
Pedro Santos, winger
Lucas Zelarayan, forward
Player to watch: Alvaro Barreal – Barreal's scored twice in the last three matches for FC Cincinnati, and that's as hot as any player has ever been for FCC since the club entered MLS. Barreal has a team-leading three goals in 2021 and seems likely to carry an increased scoring burden. He has a knack for scoring dramatically, too. Barreal scored on a chip shot for FC Cincinnati's first-ever goal at TQL Stadium, banged in a free-kick goal against Chicago and tallied for 1-1 against Houston Dynamo FC just two minutes after FCC went behind. It doesn't get much more dramatic for an FC Cincinnati player than scoring against the Crew, so if Barreal really does have the flair for the big occasions, he'd surely be inclined to put forth another goal or two on Friday night.
Noteworthy: Columbus trades for Erik Hurtado – Columbus needed help at the striker position now and in the coming weeks as its two best goalscorers are unavailable for the time being. The Crew attempted to rectify the problem with Erik Hurtado, who was moved from CF Montreal to Columbus in a Thursday trade. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Hurtado will be available for selection against FC Cincinnati. Montreal Sporting Director Olivier Renard said the move trade Hurtado away ultimately came to pass because Hurtado was not comfortable taking a COVID-19 vaccine, which would have been problematic for the player and CF Montreal for border-crossing purposes. Hurtado, an MLS veteran previously of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Sporting Kansas City, has 19 career goals over 140 appearances.
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