Nashville SC vs. FC Cincinnati, Prediction, Preview and Odds - 7/24/21

Nashville SC welcomes FC Cincinnati to Nissan Stadium in Tennessee on Saturday night for a crucial Eastern Conference tilt. The two teams have already met once this year, back on April 17th for the season opener, which ended in a 2-2 tie. In that game, Cincinnati jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 12 minutes, only to watch Nashville battle back at home and come away with a draw. Cincinnati was lucky that Columbus didn’t take all three points, as the stats show the match not being deserving of a point for each team. Nashville outshot Cincinnati 31-7 overall and 13-2 for shots on goal, while also dominating possession. With Nashville sitting in prime playoff positioning right now and Cincinnati in the chase for points, Saturday’s game should once again be an exciting affair.

Nashville Look To Continue Unbeaten Run

Nashville has been blessed with a pretty generous home schedule to start off the second half of the MLS season. In the seven games since coming back from the May/June break, Nashville has been able to play five of those at home, and have been unbeaten overall in their last six matches, last not taking points against New York Red Bulls on June 18th. Nashville is coming off a -0- tie against Columbus that left quite a bit to be desired, but coming back home sitting on 23 points in 14 games, a plus-seven goal differential, and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, will still be feeling pretty good. Expect some semblance of revenge to drive Nashville on Saturday night after how the home opener went. Even though it was great to see them come back from being down 2-0, the stats show that they really should’ve taken all three points in that game and will be looking to make up for it on Saturday.

A variety of issues, both internal and external, has Nashville shuffling to find a suitable lineup for Saturday night, as they are expected to have six players out. Walker Zimmerman and Alistair Johnston remain out due to Gold Cup considerations, while Dom Badji and Anibal Godoy remain out with injuries. The two newest additions to the availability report include Daniel Lovitz and Jack Maher, due to health and safety protocols. That leads Nashville without three typical starters in the back, including Lovitz and Maher, who love to also get forward in the attack. Add in a lack of depth with some of the other injuries and Nashville will be hard-pressed to find a lineup that they’ll have full confidence in come Saturday night.

The good news is that leading scorer, Hany Mukhtar, will bring his seven goals into Saturday night’s game and will be available. Beyond that, Nashville will also still have the always dangerous C.J. Sapong, as well as Randall Leal and Jhonder Cadiz, both of whom scored in the first meeting with Cincinnati. Leal also co-leads the team in assists with three, along with Lovitz, whose ability to help create on both sides of the ball will be missed. The defense is still a major concern right now and it’s likely that Nashville employs three in the back due to their lack of depth. Joe Willis could be in line for some much-needed saves on Saturday night, but the offense should also perform better than they did in the mid-week against Columbus.

Cincinnati Riding Strong Form

FC Cincinnati has struggled since being welcomed to the league just a few short years ago, but is currently on one of their best run of forms in recent memory. Since coming back from the May/June break, they are 2-2-3, with four of those games coming on the road. Heading to Nashville, where they already have a point under their belt from the season opener, won’t be nearly as daunting given their road experience over the last few weeks. Cincinnati certainly needs to be better than they were back on April 17th though, as getting outshot 31-13 won’t be nearly good enough to get the job done in the rematch. With their current run, Cincinnati now finds itself sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, on 13 points and a negative-nine goal differential. With the top seven teams making the MLS Playoffs, a spot that Cincinnati is seven points behind right now, expect a strong push on Saturday night to take at least a point from the home team and head back with a draw.

While not as bad as Nashville, Cincinnati will still be without five players for this weekend’s contest. Calvin Harris (meniscus), Maikel van der Werff (sports hernia), and Zico Bailey (hip), all remain out with injuries. On the Gold Cup front, Ronald Matarrita and Allan Cruz remain out on international duty. Matarrita’s team-leading three assists while be missed, but Cincinnati still has plenty of firepower ready to go. Luciano Acosta is the leading scorer, with four goals, in addition to three assists, and will be ready to go. In the first meeting between the two teams, Acosta was responsible for the first goal, while Brenner, who has three goals of his own this season, added a second off of a penalty. Expect players like Caleb Stanko, Ben Mines, and Edgar Castillo to play a valuable role coming off the bench in this one.

Defensively, Kenneth Vermeer was incredible in his last start against Atlanta, making eight saves, but has struggled quite a bit over the last month. Before his eight save performance, he had failed to make a save in any of his previous four starts. It’s a good thing though that he has Geoff Cameron in the back. A longtime European player, Cameron made the move back to North America at a perfect time and has really helped to keep Cincinnati together and composed in the back.

Pick: Nashville (-195)

Even with the Gold Cup making things slightly difficult for Nashville along with some key defenders in health and safety protocols, there’s still uncertainty surrounding FC Cincinnati and what their team is capable of. Vermeer put together a great performance during the week against Atlanta, but that seemed to be more of something not typical of him than what fans can typically expect. Nashville still has their top scorers intact and will put pressure on Cincinnati, much like Atlanta did. In the end, it’s hard to overlook how outplayed Cincinnati was in the first meeting between the two teams and even if Nashville is half as dominant in the rematch, they should come away with all three points.

Total: Under

The meeting this year was the first between the team two as MLS foes and had four goals scored total. With some of the injuries and issues with international availability, expect the under to hit in this one on Saturday night. Both teams are missing quite a bit in the back and midfield already and both teams will likely take the approach of being cautious, at least for the first half, which will really keep the chances at bay. Nashville is coming off of a scoreless draw, while Cincinnati’s last game only had two goals total scored between both teams. Expect more of the same from similar rosters on Saturday night, as goals will be at a premium.