Preview: FC Cincinnati vs. Columbus Crew - prediction, team news, lineups

FC Cincinnati will be seeking to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference when they welcome Columbus Crew to the TQL Stadium on Sunday.

The visitors, meanwhile, currently sit fifth in the same conference, nine points adrift of their opponents this weekend.

Match preview

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Cincinnati could have hardly wished for a better start in Pat Noonan's second season in charge, as the Orange and Blue find themselves in contention for the Supporters' Shield, three points clear of the New England Revolution.

Cincy made it a perfect seven wins from seven home games this season with a 3-0 victory over CF Montreal on Thursday, courtesy of strikes from Luciano Acosta and Brandon Vazquez, as well as Joel Waterman turning the ball into his own net.

That seven-match winning run at the TQL Stadium is a new franchise record for consecutive victories at home in a single campaign, while they are only three away from equalling a club record for the longest unbeaten streak in MLS.

In addition, Noonan's side have not had any problems finding the back of the net in front of their fans, scoring at least once in 23 successive regular season home fixtures, while four of their six clean sheets this campaign have come at the TQL Stadium.

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Columbus Crew ended a run of four MLS games without a win with a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Thursday, thanks to strikes from Lucas Zelarayan and Malte Amundsen.

Despite their recent woes in the league, Wilfried Nancy's side have been impressive this term, scoring 23 goals across their 12 matches so far - the second-highest tally in MLS.

The Crew also found some joy in the US Open Cup in recent weeks, beating Indy Eleven 2-1 in the third round, before thumping Loundoun United 5-1 to advance to the round of 16.

However, one cause for concern for Columbus heading into this match is their away form - the Crew have picked up just four points from their five away games this season, winning one, drawing one and losing three.

Team News

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Cincinnati will be without Arquimides Ordonez on Sunday after he was named to the Guatemala team who are competing at the Under-20 World Cup, while Santiago Arias is dealing with a thigh injury.

Brandon Vazquez has scored two goals in his last two outings for the Orange and Blue, so he seems set to retain his place up front at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Columbus will be without Will Sands, who has suffered a season-ending ACL injury, while Milos Degenek is also on the treatment table for the Crew.

After snapping a four-game winless streak last time out, Nancy may opt for an unchanged starting XI this weekend, which would see Steven Moreira, Philip Quinton and Gustavo Vallecilla make up the defence, Aidan Morris and Darlington Nagbe start in the engine room and Cucho Hernandez spearheading the attack.

FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:

Celentano; Hagglund, Miazga, Murphy; Gaddis, Nwobodo, Kubo, Moreno; Acosta; Badji, Vazquez

Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:

Schulte; Moreira, Quinton, Vallecilla; Farsi, Morris, Nagbe, Amundsen; Ramirez, Cucho, Zelarayan

We say: FC Cincinnati 2-0 Columbus Crew

Cincinnati are in brilliant form, and although Columbus have done well to snap their winless streak, we think the Orange and Blue will be tough to stop here, so we are siding with a home victory.

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