By The Numbers | FC Cincinnati at Inter Miami CF
With MLS All-Star Week filling in the time between weekend matches, FC Cincinnati takes to the road again for a matchup with Inter Miami CF at Chase Stadium this Saturday. Just 10 days after FCC took down The Herons 3-0 at TQL Stadium, this return game will close out the series with Miami and look to see FCC continue its strong run of form on the road.
Kickoff for the rematch is set for 7:15 p.m. eastern time, and fans can watch the game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and listen locally in English on ESPN 1530 and 101.5 FM La Mega in Spanish. The game will also be broadcast nationally on FS1 and Fox Deportes. Let’s look at some important figures that may factor into this road match, all presented by CTI.
277
FC Cincinnati is 4th in MLS this season with 277 blocks per FBRef, 3rd if only accounting for Eastern Conference teams. Blocks account for the combination of blocked shots (94, 4th most in MLS) and blocked passes (183, eighth most).
Perhaps most impressive about that figure is that it has been a team effort to play defense when the time comes, as while Miles Robinson leads the team in blocked shots with 15, that ranks 23rd in MLS. FCC is also the only team in that top four that doesn't have multiple individual contributors ranking in the top 25. Lukas Engle has been a ball hawk in terms of blocking passes with 26, as another example, but he too is the only member of The Orange and Blue to individually rank in the top 25, proving it to be a collective effort rather than one standout making up most of the team's stats.
72
Evander had a record-setting all-star week in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T, scoring a record high 72 points in the shooting challenge to lift MLS to victory over Liga MX.
The MLS MVP candidate was also named Captain of the All-Star side earlier in the week after it was announced he had won the public fan vote for who would wear the armband. Evander would start for the MLS All-Stars as captain and helped guide the team to a 3-1 victory.
Evander played the first 45 minutes of the match before subbing out for the evening, and in his time put on two shots that required amazing saves to stop. After halftime, FCC defender Miles Robinson came into the game to play the second 45-minute period and helped see out that victory.
89
Pavel Bucha leads FC Cincinnati in passes into the final third with 89 and is also second in progressive passes with 117. But it is Evander who leads the side with 48 passes into the penalty area.
FC Cincinnati’s Czech midfielder has been key to the team's success this season, and in recent matches, he has taken his offensive game to another level. Bucha, over the last seven matches, is averaging one Key Pass per game (any pass that directly leads to a shot on goal) and has had multiple successful passes into the opponent's final third in five of those matches.
2580
Luca Orellano has been on a strong run of form of late, and has contributed to a goal in six of the last seven games for The Orange and Blue. While his season-long goal totals of two goals and six assists may seem low, he has been key to FCC's success in many ways off the ball, leading FC Cincinnati in progressive carry distance this season with 2,580 yards carried forward, according to Opta.
The young winger's ability to carry the ball forward has been one of the most effective tools for FCC this season, making 90 progressive carries (also a team high), which is defined as any run closer to the opponent's goal of more than 10 yards, or any run into the opponent's box.
Orellano also leads the team in successful take ons (number of defenders taken on successfully by dribbling) and is third in take on success rate (43.3% on 97 attempts) – despite his high volume – among qualified attackers behind only Pavel Bucha (52.6% on 38 attempts), Evander (45.5% on 66 attempts) and Kévin Denkey (46.5% on 43 attempts).
1 over 1.1
FC Cincinnati have won six of their last seven matches and have been dominant on defense over that time. Only once in that stretch of seven matches, dating back to June 14th, have FC Cincinnati conceded more than 1.1 xG (expected goals) and in that one match where they did, they earned a hard-fought road victory over Orlando City SC 2-1.
Over the seven game stretch, which spans all games thus far in June and July, FC Cincinnati have also conceded on average just 1.1 xG per game – a total of 7.7xG in that span – third lowest in MLS and second lowest in the Eastern Conference behind only LAFC (2.9xG in four matches) and Orlando City SC (7.3 in seven matches).
FCC’s opponent this weekend, Inter Miami CF, has conceded 8.4xG in five league matches (eighth lowest) but 1.7 per match (16th in MLS).
100 and (maybe) 150
Sergio Santos reached 100 appearances with FC Cincinnati last Saturday night in a substitute appearance against Real Salt Lake. Santos became the 12th player in club history (all eras) to reach that mark.
Nick Hagglund currently sits one appearance away from his own milestone, needing to appear just once in order to reach 150 appearances for FC Cincinnati and become the third player in club history to cross that mark.
Other milestones to keep an eye on as the year progresses are that Roman Celentano is 261 minutes away from surpassing Luciano Acosta for the most minutes played in Orange and Blue, with 12,381 minutes. Evander needs just four more goals to tie the club's single-season goal record of 21, and Kei Kamara is three goals away from reaching 150 goals scored, which would make him just the second player in league history to do so.
