Prediction for FC Cincinnati vs New York Metropolis FC

It is safe to say that Ronald Matarrita is rooted in the young but growing history and lore of New York City FC.

It remains to be seen whether Matarrita can give Cincinnati FC a material advantage on their very first trip back to Yankee Stadium to compete against their old club.

After NYCFC moved to Major League Soccer in 2015, Matarrita signed there for the following five seasons. He has been involved in some of the club’s greatest achievements to date, including his very first appearance in the MLS Cup playoffs and five direct trips into the postseason (2016-2020).

In 2019, Matarrita started in all 24 games he played when NYCFC first ended at the Eastern Conference. Only one rampant Los Angeles Football Club from this season beat NYCFC in the race for the Supporters Shield title.

“Mata” played 106 league games for his ex-club and started 89 of these competitions. He added four goals and 13 assists during his five seasons in the City Football Group blue.

Understandably, Cincinnati’s trip to Yankee Stadium for Matarrita on Saturday (1:00 p.m. CET) is very emotional.

“New York City brings back a lot of great emotions and a lot of good feelings,” Matarrita said of a club interpreter during an interview on Thursday. “They were the team that brought me to MLS so it will be very special to play against them. Now I’m going to play the Cincinnati FC badge and represent that badge and give it my all and hopefully give it my all.” to get a positive result in the game. ”

New York FC manager Ronny Deila’s pre-game press conference on Thursday came and went with a few free words about FC Cincinnati but little thought about Matarrita.

Like all managers after a hiring decision, Deila seems to have moved on since then the December trade that sent Matarrita to Cincinnati FC in exchange for up to $ 600,000 in generic grant funds.

Gudmundur Thórarinsson of Iceland started in the left back position that Matarrita had for years in NYCFC’s inaugural loss to DC United on April 17th.

At Cincinnati FC, however, Matarrita is seen as an integral part of the setup for head coach Jaap Stam’s squad in 2021. He was brought to the FCC to defend and join the attack, which is Stam’s preferred style of play, and Matarrita did both to solid effect the 2-2 season opener draw against Nashville SC.

Matarrita assisted Luciano Acosta’s goal in the eighth minute in Nashville, marking the first goal of the season for FC Cincinnati.

Matarrita’s offers are of further interest as his old club is now in the crosshairs of FC Cincinnati. The thought that he could provide information that could help reverse his previous employer raised questions about what he could really offer FCC against a site he knows better than most.

Stam downplayed the idea that Matarrita’s findings could turn the game around in the FCC’s favor, despite Stam apparently consulting with Matarrita about NYCFC.

“I also talked to Ronald a bit about what to expect and how to play,” said Stam on Thursday. “So, yes, you are trying to gather as much information as you can, but they also know we have Ronald now. They saw us too so they can change something. They can be confident of what they are doing.” So it’s always a guess as to how the game will end, but you always try to prepare as well as you can for that particular game by thinking about ourselves and of course how we want to play. And of course, knowing what they are trying to do and trying to stop them from moving forward. “

Matarrita was aware of the nostalgia he felt for his time at NYCFC.

Without throwing any barbs in the direction of NYCFC, he was equally straightforward about his allegiance to Cincinnati.

“As a professional you always have to give 100 percent for the badge you represent,” said Matarrita. “It’s nice to play at New York City FC, though. I still have a lot of love for the people in the club, the fans of the club and the people at New York City FC … I definitely want to win this game . ”

The game

Start: 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 24 | Yankee Stadium; New York City

TV / radio / stream: Star64 / ESPN1530-AM / fccincinnati.com

Series info: NYCFC has a 4-0 record against FC Cincinnati and has beaten the FCC 15-4 in these four games.

Opportunities: NYCFC (-250) defeated FC Cincinnati (+625), according to BetMGM.

Cincinnati FC

2020 record / goal: 4-15-4, most recently in the Eastern Conference

2021 record: 0-0-1, 5th place in the Eastern Conference

Goals for: 2

Goals against: 2

Coach: Jaap Stam – second season as coach of FC Cincinnati (4-13-6 total record)

Projected starting grid:

Przemysław Tytoń (GK)

Ronald Matarrita, left back

Nick Hagglund, center-back

Tom Pettersson, center-back

Joseph-Claude Gyau, be right back

Yuya Kubo keeps midfielder

Luciano Acosta, central midfielder

Kamohelo Mokotjo holds midfielder

Calvin Harris, left winger

Brenner, striker

Alvaro Barreal, right winger

More:Cincinnati FC swaps Frankie Amaya for New York Red Bulls for $ 950,000

More:FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta Przemysław Tytoń has been named MLS Team of the Week

More:Cincinnati FC face Nashville SC 2-2 to open the 2021 MLS season

New York City FC

2020 record: 8-8-7, 7th in the Eastern Conference

2021 record: 0-1-0, 13th in the Eastern Conference

Goals for: 1

Goals against: 2

Coach: Ronny Delia – second season as NYCFC manager (12-3-9 record)

Projected starting grid:

Sean Johnson, goalkeeper

Gudmundur Thórarinsson, left back

Alexander Callens, central defender

Maxime Chanot, center-back

Anton Tinnerholm, be right back

Keaton Parks, midfielder

James Sands, midfielder

Ismael Tajouri, attacking midfielder

Maximiliano Moralez, midfielder

Jesús Medina, midfielder

Valentin Castellanos, onward

Player to see: Przemysław Tytoń gave MLS best goalkeeping performance last week. Unfortunately, he could be tasked with fending off another flurry of shots and opportunities as the line of defense and Cincinnati FC squad await further reinforcements. Winger Isaac Atanga is going through pandemic logs before starting practice on Monday and center-back Gustavo Vallecilla is still managing the immigration process before they can join the FCC. Third-year FC Cincinnati central defender Maikel van der Werff (sports hernia) was also excluded. If NYCFC opts for fast attacking play, Tytoń could be back on the wrong end of a shooting range, just as he was against Nashville SC on Saturday. He made a single-game team record of 11 saves in that game. Tytoń is able to stand on his head when he has to and while he shouldn’t, it is possible that he will have to do it all over again this week.

Remarkable: A result at Yankee Stadium this weekend would be the strongest evidence yet that Cincinnati FC is turning a corner towards consistent competitiveness. NYCFC is a strong litmus test for measuring the progress of the FCC as FC Cincinnati have lost only to New York in four previous MLS games. Aside from always losing to the Bronx-based club, the series between the two teams saw some of the worst performances in Cincinnati FC history. The two games against NYCFC in 2019 were particularly daunting, with a 5-2 loss at Yankee Stadium and a 4-1 loss at Nippert Stadium at the University of Cincinnati in front of 27,273 spectators. In 2020, Cincinnati FC lost 2-1 and 4-0 at NYCFC, who were forced to play their home games at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. New York’s usual home ground at Yankee Stadium was unavailable due to the shortened Major League Baseball season in the novel coronavirus pandemic. Saturday’s match marks the first time the FCC has returned to Yankee Stadium since June 6, 2019, when the goals they scored in the 5–2 loss were both NYCFC own goals.

Score prediction: New York City FC 2, FC Cincinnati 1.