Preview:FC Cincinnati vs. Inter Miami - prediction, team news, lineups

FC Cincinnati will be aiming to maintain their unbeaten start to their MLS campaign when they welcome Inter Miami to the Nippert Stadium on Saturday.

As for the visitors, they will be seeking to snap a three-game losing streak and win their first away game of the season.

Match preview

Pat Noonan's Cincinnati have begun the MLS season in terrific fashion as they are unbeaten so far, with three wins and two draws from their first five games of the year putting them second in the Eastern Conference.

Last time out, the Ohio outfit edged past Nashville SC, with Brandon Vazquez scoring the only goal of the game to extend Cincinnati's unbeaten streak on the road to nine games dating back to last season.

The club has now matched the run of the Portland Timbers in 2012 and can extend the run even further if they can tame the high-flying St Louis City when they visit CityPark in three weeks' time. The win also means Cincinnati are the only unbeaten team left in the Eastern Conference.

Noonan's side have also won both games they have played in front of their own fans, beating the Houston Dynamo on the opening day of the season, before beating the Seattle Sounders on March 12.

Meanwhile, Inter Miami will be seeking to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat after enjoying a fantastic start to the campaign.

Goals from Serhiy Kryvtsov and Shanyder Borgelin gave the Herons a 2-0 win over CF Montreal in February's league opener before claiming a similar 2-0 victory over Philadelphia Union a week later.

However, Phil Neville's men were sent crashing back to earth on March 12 as they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of New York City FC, with Christopher McVey turning the ball into his own goal to hand the Pigeons their first win of the season.

That was followed by a 2-0 defeat against Toronto FC before Kei Kamara broke Miami hearts with a 92nd-minute winner in last weekend's dramatic 3-2 loss to the Chicago Fire.

The Herons find themselves in 10th place in the Eastern Conference coming into this game, and Miami lost 3-1 in this fixture last year, so Neville will be hoping to see a better performance from his side this season.

FC Cincinnati Major League Soccer form:

FC Cincinnati form (all competitions):

Inter Miami Major League Soccer form:

Inter Miami form (all competitions):

Team News

Brandon Vazquez opened his account for the season against Nashville, so he looks set to retain his place in attack this weekend.

Roman Celentano will keep his place between the sticks after he recorded his eighth career clean sheet against the Tennessee outfit, as well as his third of the season.

Meanwhile, Inter Miami will be without several key players down the spine of the team as the likes of Ian Fray (ACL), Shanyder Borgelin (ankle) and Leonardo Campana (calf) are all recuperating from injuries.

Brazilian midfielder Gregore missed last Saturday's clash against Chicago through an ankle issue, while Robbie Robinson has been sidelined since last May.

Celentano; Gaddis, Miazga, Mosquera, Murphy, Barreal; Moreno, Nwobodo; Angulo; Brenner, Vazquez

Callender; Yedlin, Kryvtsov, McVey, Negri; Mota, Duke; Jean, Ulloa, Pizarro; Martinez

We say: FC Cincinnati 2-0 Inter Miami

Cincinnati have started this season in fine form and remain unbeaten, while Inter Miami are still winless on their travels this season so we think the hosts will edge this contest.

The Orange and Blue have considerable firepower upfront with Vazquez and Brenner leading the line, so we think their attacking quality will prove to be too much to contain.

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