FC Cincinnati will make a trip to the city of Brotherly Love for the first road trip of the 2025 MLS regular season and respark the history of these two clubs in a vital matchup for both sides. Played on the shores of the Delaware River, Subaru Park has always been a challenging locale for any visiting team.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the game on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and listen locally in English on ESPN 1530 and 97.7 FM La Mega in Spanish. Let’s look at some important figures that may factor into the first road match of the MLS season, all presented by CTI.
6
With his 70th-minute header against the New York Red Bulls, Kévin Denkey became the sixth player in club history to score in their MLS debut (Boupendza, Brenner, Acosta, Locadia, Bertone).
Thus far, Dénkey has scored in each of his three competitive matches with FC Cincinnati and has led the team in scoring in the early part of the season. As a key part of the attack, look for Kévin Denkey to continue his goal-scoring streak in Philadelphia.
32
Roman Celentano recorded his 32nd clean sheet across all competitions on Saturday against the Red Bulls. In the shutout effort the 24-year-old keeper made three saves to keep the Red Bulls off the board. In 2024 Celentano earned seven clean sheets after appearing in 30 MLS matches. He also conceded just 42 goals, giving him a 1.4 goals against per game average.
7
FC Cincinnati has been on a busy schedule to open the 2025 season but found some reprieve in the midweek match this week, rotating seven starters out of the opening XI for the Concacaf Champions Cup match on Wednesday at TQL Stadium.
Of the remaining four starters from the home opener against the New York Red Bulls, Miles Robinson, Evander and Kévin Denkey all substituted out of the game at half-time, with Pavel Bucha following suit in the second half.
53
DeAndre Yedlin was sixth in MLS on MatchDay 1 with 53 High-Speed Runs, displaying the dynamic and athletic ability the wingback brings to the team on the right side. Pavel Bucha was close behind him with 51 High-Speed Runs, good enough for eighth place league-wide.
It was Yedlin’s passing ability that broke the deadlock for FC Cincinnati as his lofted pass to Denkey earned the assist on the game's only goal.
123.7
The Philadelphia Union was as busy as anyone on the pitch last weekend, covering the most collective distance traveled on MatchDay 1 with a combined 123.7 kilometers in the opening game. New Union Head Coach Bradley Carnell became known in his last position with St. Louis CITY SC for a pressing style much like the Red Bulls. While it's too early to say definitively, this large distance covered may suggest he is looking to bring that same style to Philly.
6 (again)
Stefan Chirila became the sixth FC Cincinnati Academy player to make an MLS debut for the club, coming on in the 90+5 minute for Pavel Bucha to help see out the match. Chirila, an Allentown, Pennsylvania native, joined the FCC Academy and took off as a striker – winning the 2024 MLS NEXT Golden Boot, was named to the MLS NEXT All-Star game and was eventually rewarded with an MLS NEXT Pro contract for 2024 before being promoted to the first team in 2025.
Chirila has appeared in each of the club's three competitive matches in 2025 thus far, also subbing in both Concacaf Champions Cup matches against FC Motagua.
11
FC Cincinnati dominated on the road in 2024 and are looking to take that winning formula into 2025. Setting a league record with 11 away wins in 2024 and earned 35 points. The total equals that of Inter Miami CF (also in 2024) and the 2022 CF Montreal record. In the MLS Shootout Era, where all matches with an even score went to a shootout after 90 minutes, DC United and LA Galaxy both earned 13 wins to set the official high water mark.
