FC Cincinnati faces do or die MLS Cup playoff match with…The Full Details..

There’s not much left to discuss or analyze at this point in FC Cincinnati’s first-round playoff series with New York City FC.

The teams know one another inside and out, and Saturday will be their sixth head-to-head meeting in 2024 across all competitions. The reward for prevailing from the next matchup is enormous − hosting an Eastern Conference semifinal − while the loser’s season will be over.

That’s the stage and backdrop for the decisive Game Three between FC Cincinnati and NYCFC when they meet Saturday at TQL Stadium (4 p.m.) to wrap up their MLS Cup first-round series.

“The approach for the teams won’t be drastically different than Games One and Two,” FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said during a Thursday news conference. “Like I said, we know the circumstances with what the result means, but I don’t foresee anything being drastically different because it’s the third game and a win-or-go home scenario.”

For the first time in 2024, FC Cincinnati’s starting lineup has been consistent from Game One to Game 2 of the playoff series (and even dating back to the regular season finale Oct. 19). Meanwhile, New York City FC is expected to stay with the small tweaks from Game 1 that helped it prevail, 2-1, at Citi Field last week.

Those tweaks included inserting long-time NYCFC fan-favorite Maxi Moralez, and inserting defender Mitja Ilenič into the game in place of the suspended Tayvon Gray, who is available for Game Three.

Noonan indicated after Game 2 he wasn’t dismayed by the nature of his team’s loss. That was still the case Thursday.

“Training’s been good. I think the guys’ focus after Game 2 has been no different than our preparation for the first two games,” Noonan said. “They’ve moved on from it and know what they need to improve to have a better outcome. So, they’ve been fine. You don’t enjoy losing, and we didn’t play well enough, but I don’t see concern in their behaviors.

Cushing commits to 2025 season in New York

Before the FC Cincinnati-NYCFC series started, rumblings about Nick Cushing possibly being a candidate to take over as manager for the Arsenal FC’s Women’s Super League (WSL) side was a talking point. Rumors of that nature, true and false, can be distractions.

Cushing quashed the rumors on Thursday, according to multiple reports. Cushing committed to returning as NYCFC’s head coach in 2025,Cushing made Manchester City FC a WSL force prior to coming to MLS.

Crew loss opens a potential path for FC Cincinnati

The No. 7-seed New York Red Bulls defeated Columbus Crew on Sunday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey to sweep their playoff series against the second-seeded, reigning-champion Crew.

The series win for the Red Bulls took out a Crew team thought to be one of the true MLS Cup contenders this year. It also opened up a path for FC Cincinnati to have home field advantage in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

FC Cincinnati is the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed, and now the second-highest remaining seed on the east side of the playoff bracket other than No. 1 Inter Miami CF (which is facing an elimination game against No. 9-seed Atlanta United later this Saturday). That means FC Cincinnati would host one of the east’s two semifinal round matches − as long as FCC can handle its business against NYCFC.

Prior to the start of the playoffs, it seemed likely that FC Cincinnati’s road through the postseason would go through Columbus. FCC won at the Crew’s Lower.com Field in the spring, but two road wins against the defending MLS Cup champions in one season would have been asking a lot.

Now, the road to MLS Cup has swerved away from Lower.com Field, and FC Cincinnati’s path to a championship looks a lot more viable.

The game: FC Cincinnati vs. NYCFC

Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET | TQL Stadium, Cincinnati

Broadcast: Apple TV MLS Season Pass

All-time series: New York City FC leads the all-time series against FC Cincinnati with an 8-6-1 record.

Playoff series: FC Cincinnati defeated NYCFC, 1-0, at TQL Stadium Oct. 28; NYCFC defeated FC Cincinnati, 2-1, at Citi Field.

Cincinnati.com Game 3 prediction: FC Cincinnati 2, NYCFC 1.

No. 3-seed FC Cincinnati

Regular season record: 18-11-5, 59 points; Third place in Eastern Conference

Goals for: 58 (Tied for No. 5 in east; tied for No. 10 in MLS)

Goals against: 48 (No. 3 in east; tied for No. 6 in MLS)

Head coach: Pat Noonan, third season as Cincinnati manager

Projected starting XI: Roman Celentano (GK), Teenage Hadebe, Miles Robinson, Chidozie Awaziem, DeAndre Yedlin, Yamil Asad, Obinna Nwobodo, Pavel Bucha, Luciano Acosta, Luca Orellano, Yuya Kubo.