FC Cincinnati vs. Orlando City SC Prediction, Preview and Odds - 10/16/21
Orlando City SC will be looking for a much-needed victory when it travels to FC Cincinnati on Saturday night. Orlando ended a five-match winless streak with a 2-1 win over DC United in its last match, holding on to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Cincinnati is in last place in the conference, sitting 20 points back of the final playoff spot.
Orlando City is slumping
Orlando City has been near the top of the Eastern Conference throughout the season, but it is has recently gone through a rough patch. It went winless in five straight matches, losing the first four of those contests. Atlanta, Montreal and Philadelphia all won by at least two goals in those matchups, while New England notched a 2-1 win. Orlando City finally got back on the scoreboard when it played to a 2-2 draw at Nashville in its final match of September. The club was able to build on that draw with a 2-1 win over DC United in its last match. Julian Gressel scored six minutes into the match to give DC United the early lead, but Robin Jansson scored the equalizer 10 minutes later.
The match remained tied until Daryl Dike scored the game-winner in the seventh minute of extra time. Orlando City is now in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, leading DC United, NYCFC and Montreal by two points. The Lions are three points behind Philadelphia for third place, so this is a pivotal match. They are also just three points ahead of Atlanta for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, so they could almost fall out of the playoff picture entirely with a loss. Orlando City has not registered a full three points away from home since the end of June, failing in all nine tries. Alexandre Pato and Oriol Rosell are going to be the only missing players for Orlando on Saturday.
Cincinnati looking for a rare win
Cincinnati has come up short in its last six matches. It has lost four of those six contests by just one goal, though. Its most recent setback came last Saturday, where Philadelphia picked up a 2-1 win. The Union scored a goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half and they added another goal 11 minutes after halftime. Cincinnati’s lone goal came with eight minutes left in the match, as Haris Medunjanin got on the board. Philadelphia was without six players due to international matches and three others due to injuries or suspension, but it did not stop them from beating the worst team in the conference.
Cincinnati has now lost nine of its last 10 matches—it held 63% of the possession against Philadelphia last Saturday. It is dead-last in the Eastern Conference, trailing Montreal by 20 points for the final playoff spot. Cincinnati is five points back of Toronto with six matches to play in the race for the worst team in the conference. The club has won just twice at home this year, but it has allowed 22 more goals away from home. Joseph-Claude Gyau has not played since the beginning of August and he is expected to remain out on Saturday. Yuya Kubo and Gustavo Vallecilla left last weekend’s match with injuries and are questionable for this match.
Spread (Cincinnati PK +100)
Orlando City is going to be a popular bet this weekend, but I like the contrarian side on Saturday night. Despite its six-match losing skid, Cincinnati has actually been playing decent soccer. It dominated the possession battle against Philadelphia last week and has remained competitive against two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference. Cincinnati has also been much better at home than on the road in 2021 and its fan base has not wavered. Orlando City is coming off a victory, but it was just seconds away from having its winless streak extended to six matches. This team is not in good form, while Cincinnati is playing better than its results would suggest.
Total (Under 2.5)
The under is definitely a correlated bet with Cincinnati to win the match. If the home underdog is going to come through, it is likely going to be a 1-0 type of contest. Cincinnati’s defense has been much better at home this season. It has allowed 22 more goals on the road than at home, which has skewed several betting prices in this match. I do not trust Orlando City’s attack coming into a must-win match. Cincinnati is going to try to control possession, which will not give the visitors many chances.