FC Cincinnati take to the road once again to close out a busy week and look to earn another three points away from home. For the first time this season, The Orange and Blue head to the Western Conference for a match as they visit Real Salt Lake at America First Field for only the second time in club history.
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. Let’s examine some key figures that may influence this road match, all presented by CTI.
64/4/293
A trio of stats to open this one, but all three correlate to a certain extent. Real Salt Lake (despite having a game in hand against the rest of the league) ranks tied for third in Major League Soccer this season in yellow cards shown with 64, and are second in red cards given with four.
Real Salt Lake is perfectly comfortable playing a physical game and has earned the eighth-most fouls committed this season, with 293. On a per 90-minute basis, RSL committed 13.3 fouls, compared to FC Cincinnati’s near league low of 10.4 per 90, which ranks 28th this season.
FC Cincinnati has shown they’re not afraid of a gritty match, but look for RSL to try to assert themselves at home with physicality.
5
On Wednesday night at TQL Stadium, Evander became the first player in FC Cincinnati history to score in five consecutive matches across all competitions and eras. With his brace, the Brazilian MVP candidate brought his goal contribution total to 10 over that five-game stretch and has put him firmly in the race for the Golden Boot with 15 goals on the season.
967
Real Salt Lake love to play long and are one of the best teams in the league at completing passes of 30 yards or longer. According to FBRef and Opta, RSL have attempted the third most passes of 30 yards or more this season and completed the second most, with 967 total in 22 matches. Trailing only Sporting KC in the completion category, defender Justen Glad leads outfield players on RSL with 129 completed long passes. Goalkeeper Rafael Cabrera is the true standout, though, as his ability to pass out of the back adds a dynamic aspect to RSL as the veteran Brazilian keeper leads the team outright and is third league-wide in long passes with 189.
0
FC Cincinnati and Real Salt Lake have only met twice before this Saturday night matchup at America First Field. The first match resulted in a 3-0 loss at home in 2019, with the more recent duel being a 2-1 victory for FCC in 2022.
That said, neither of these sides currently have a player who have scored a goal against the other on their roster. For FC Cincinnati, the only player who has appeared in both matches is Nick Hagglund. Given his appearance on the matchday roster on Wednesday, he could make a third appearance this weekend.
Evander, though, while not having scored for FCC against RSL, has had considerable success against the Utah-based club, scoring twice and adding an assist in four matches between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Alvas Powell is the only active FC Cincinnati player to have earned a goal contribution for FCC against Salt Lake, earning an assist in 2022. Other FCC players to have earned goal contributions against RSL for other clubs include Corey Baird (two goals in 10 matches), Kei Kamara (two goals and two assists in 23 matches), DeAndre Yedlin (two assists in five matches), and Brad Smith (one assist in 10 matches).
12
21-year-old star midfielder Diego Luna (nicknamed “Moonboy”) has been the breakout star not only for Real Salt Lake this season but also for the US Men’s National team, as the dynamic attacker has returned from a successful run at the Gold Cup and earned himself some international recognition for his play. Luna scored three times for his nation in six appearances.
The young midfielder has been a key player for Real Salt Lake for several years now, debuting in 2022 but truly coming into his own in 2024, when he tallied 20 goal contributions. He is now a key piece of the Western Conference side’s offensive engine.
In 2025, Luna has already notched 12 goal contributions (eight goals, four assists) and is a player to look out for in this match as the engine behind RSL’s attack.
5…again
With his opening goal in Wednesday night's victory, Gerardo “Dado” Valenzuela earned his fifth goal of the season and set a new career record with five goal contributions on the season, surpassing his 2024 season, where he earned a goal and three assists.
Valenzuela, 20, now leads all FC Cincinnati Academy graduates in first team minutes played, goals scored and goal contributions with 1540 minutes played, six career goals in MLS play and nine goal contributions in that same time.
