Match Preview: Orange and Blue take on Santos Laguna in Leagues Cup knockout stage
Damon Gumbert
Is FC Cincinnati back? The group stage of the Leagues Cup may have some fans believing in the club again after a rough stretch before the break. And with recent news that DeAndre Yedlin, Miles Robinson, and Luciano Acosta are back to training and available to start going forward, it’s hard to argue that the vibes going forward shouldn’t be sky-high.
The Heroes
Things have been trending upward for the Orange and Blue since the beginning of the Leagues Cup break in the MLS season. Before the break, the club was grasping at straws trying to field a back line after the Matt Miazga and Nick Hagglund injuries and with Robinson securing a red card before going to Paris to play for the U.S.A Olympic team. Chris Albright and crew made an early impact during the break, bringing in Chidozie Awaziem to shore up the defense. The club was able to bring in the defender after moving Miazga to the season-ending injury list.
Awaziem added an immediate upgrade on defense over a back line that often featured Kipp Keller, Ian Murphy, and Alvas Powell. In his first match against Queretaro FC, Awaziem played all 90+ minutes, after getting into town earlier in the day with his work visa, and helped the defense secure a clean sheet against the Liga MX squad. The defense looked unbeatable when Awaziem was paired with friend and fellow Nigerian Obinna Nwobodo.
Head coach Pat Noonan decided to rest Awaziem for the first half of The FC’s follow-up game against NYCFC, opting to play the makeshift line of Murphy, Keller, and Powell. After a first-half goal was given up by the defense Awaziem was subbed in at half-time and along with fellow substitutes Pavel Bucha, Sergio Santos, Yuya Kubo, Yamil Asad, and London Aghedo, changed the direction of the match for the better. Bucha and Asad tied the match 2-2 before Awaziem found Kubo on a brilliant lead pass that Kubo put into the back of the net and gave FCC a lead they would not relinquish.
Now with Robinson back from the Olympics and likely to start for the remainder of the Leagues Cup next to Murphy and Awaziem, the back line is starting to look as healthy and fortified as it had earlier in the season. On top of Robinson returning, Yedlin will be back at right wingback, where he has excelled defensively as well as pushing the ball and pace up-field in an attacking position.
The future for Acosta is a little less certain. The defending MLS Most Valuable Player suffered an ankle injury late in the club's 0-1 loss to the Chicago Fire in July, missing the following three matches due to the injury. While he has returned to the pitch in practice and is available for the match against Santos Laguna, he may continue to rest his ankle for bigger games. When he does return though, this could be what the lineup looks like.
Anyone not reading this on a phone is going to see how big this picture is and be very confused. Just know, I tried to make it smaller and couldn’t figure it out.
The Villains
Santos Laguna currently sits in 16th place in the Liga MX standings. Does it mean much? Not really, the season is only a few weeks old. Does the fact that the club has only scored one goal since the season started, including in Leagues Cup play, mean anything? That is up to interpretation. The team’s leading scorer, with one goal, is 21-year-old Santiago Munoz. Munoz scored in the club's lone tie this season. Since then, he has seen his minutes diminish. Since the club played Atlas on July 16, Munoz has been limited to 28’ against Tigres, 26’ against DC United, and 1’ against Atlanta United. Munoz, along with pretty much everyone for Santos Laguna, scored in the penalty shootout with Atlanta, which knocked the Union out of the Leagues Cup.
While the Laguna offense has been middling, their defense has looked worse. The club currently has a goal differential of -5, being outscored 1-6 in the Liga MX season. They added 3 goals to that total when DC United defeated them on July 31. The club was not better last season, having a goal differential of -13 during their 2023-24 run, coming in 15th place in Liga MX.
Prediction
This has trap game written all over it. FCC routinely lets their guards down against teams with less-than-stellar records. They survived matches against Philadelphia (4-3) when Philly was sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, DC United (2-3) who are near the bottom of the EC, and San Jose (2-4) who are cleanly leading the Wooden Spoon race. The club was also beaten by Chicago, sitting in 14th place in the EC, New England, sitting in 15th, and Nashville, who are sitting in 12th. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that this team could be overlooking a bad team.
That being said, Noonan said the club is looking to win a trophy, and the Leagues Cup could be their best chance. It does feel like the club is going all in on winning, as chances are we see a lineup that looks close to the A-Team lineup on Friday. The club should win 2-0, or better if they play most of their starters in this match. Not knowing whether Acosta is 100%, it feels too early in his recovery to have him play a full match. I will go with a 1-0 FCC win in a sloppy affair that is saved by the defense being as close to full strength as they can get.
The next team they can play that is in the top half of the league would be either Orlando City or Cruz Azul, who play each other on Friday. Either team would play FCC in the Quarterfinals of the cup if they make it that far.
FC Cincinnati vs Santos Laguna takes place on Friday, Aug 9 at 7:30 p.m. at TQL Stadium. You can watch the match on AppleTV+ with an MLS Season Pass or at any of the clubs participating Pub Partners.
