FC Cincinnati head coach Jaap Stam made five changes to his starting XI ahead of the team’s Thursday morning matchup with Atlanta United FC.
Mathieu Deplagne, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Andrew Gutman, Caleb Stanko and Maikel van der Werff replace Saad Abdul-Salaam, Siem de Jong, Greg Garza, Kekuta Manneh and Tom Pettersson.
About the lineup changes
Deplagne, Gyau and van der Werff all make their MLS is Back Tournament debuts and first appearance since March 7 – when FCC last played Atlanta. Gyau missed last Saturday’s match with a knock, while van der Werff was in concussion protocol.
Gutman was a sub against Columbus Crew SC and makes his first start since Sept. 18, 2019 – which was also played against Atlanta.
Stanko was a second-half sub last match and will make his first start since the 2019 season finale against D.C. United on Oct. 6.
Injury update
Garza (hamstring) and de Jong (groin) will miss this match after sustaining injuries against Columbus. Allan Cruz picked up an ankle injury during training on Sunday night, while Jimmy McLaughlin (ankle) and Jürgen Locadia (thigh) miss their second-straight match.
