Philadelphia visits FC Cincinnati for Eastern Conference battle

FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan has been saying that the club's upcoming matches to close out the regular season are only going to get tougher.

Consider for example Saturday night's home match with the Philadelphia Union (16-6-6, 54 points), currently the Eastern Conference and Supporters' Shield leaders.

It's a battle between the East's top two clubs, and Cincinnati (16-8-4, 52 points) can clinch a berth in the MLS Cup Playoffs with a win and a New York Red Bulls loss or draw against the Columbus Crew. A win would also put Cincinnati back in first place in the Eastern Conference.

"While it's not the goal just to get in the playoffs, I still think it's a credit to the guys at this stage to potentially make that a reality," Noonan said. "It's hard to year after year after year be a playoff team. I think that's, you know, the history and the data will show that."

Cincinnati has qualified for the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, including as Supporters' Shield winners in 2023.

A win Saturday would give Cincinnati its 55th win in the last three seasons, and it would be the only team in MLS history to have that many wins in a three-season stretch.

The team that knocked FC Cincinnati out of the playoffs in 2022, the Union are a force to be reckoned with this season.

Led by first-year head coach Bradley Carnell, the Union are looking for a regular-season sweep of FCC on Saturday. They won the match between the two clubs in Philadelphia 4-1 back in March.

In that game, Philadelphia forward Tai Baribo scored a hat trick. He is tied for third in MLS with Cincinnati All-Star midfielder Evander with 16 goals in regular-season competition.

"We're learning how to deal with these moments a lot better," Carnell said. "The team is embracing and enjoying where they are right now."