After two weeks off between games, FC Cincinnati will have a busy sprint to the finish in the 2026 Major League Soccer season.
Cincy will play at Atlanta United FC in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10. That game will start a stretch of seven matches in 22 days in the closing stages of the season for Cincinnati, which has 33 points (8-9-9) and is in 10th place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Managing the depth of the rosterwill be a concern for head coach Pat Noonan and his staff during this stretch, but he said his focus is on one game at a time.
“We’re preparing for Atlanta,” Noonan said. “We don’t have an approach other than we know the schedule as far as the seven games. We have to put together a good performance against
Atlanta and go from there. I think the good part is the health, for the most part, of the group is giving us good bodies, and we're going to need those bodies through this stretch.”
Evander will miss the Atlanta game
Noonan said that Evander will not play in Atlanta due to a knock he took during the Montreal game Sept. 26. Noonan said his star attacking midfielder stayed in the game and fought through discomfort and then the injury turned out to be worse than originally thought.
“It speaks to the toughness of Evander where he gets through the game and had the discomfort, but didn't think it was going to be something that was going to keep him out for this period of time,” Noonan said. “So, training staff's been working hard with him to push him along, and he's had a good approach to it. Obviously, he's disappointed that he picked up a knock. So, we'll see how it looks with that absence.”
Players are back after the international break
FC Cincinnati had six first-team players out during the international break. Kevin Denkey returned to the club last week after starting two games with Togo in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The other five – Pavel Bucha, Andrei Chirila, Connor Dale, Samuel Gidi and Miles Robinson – all returned to Cincinnati Oct. 7. Noonan expected them to be in training Oct. 8 and available for Atlanta.
Bucha had a highlight when he came off the bench in the 73rd minute in a match against World Cup champion Spain in the UEFA Nations League tournament. Chirila made two starts for United States U19 team in friendlies. Gidi made two starts for Slovakia’s U21s in UEFA Euro qualifiers, including Oct. 6 in Andorra in Western Europe. Since Gidi played the most minutes of the group, Noonan said his capabilities in training would be monitored more closely.
A look at FC Cincinnati’s opponent, Atlanta United FC
Atlanta has 27 points and is 7-14-6. They are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference but six points behind Cincinnati and playoff position.
The team has had better results since the World Cup break, with a 5-5-4 record. All five losses were to teams in the top seven of the Eastern Conference, and they drew 2-2 at second-place Miami. Atlanta had a three-game winning streak in August, plus a win, loss and three draws in September.
Atlanta is tied with Kansas City for the fewest goals scored this season, 32. They have conceded 45, which is middle of the pack.
Cincinnati beat Atlanta 2-0 in the season opener, way back on Feb. 21. Noonan said the club has added a lot of veteran talent since then and is a stronger club now.
Emmanuel Latte Lath, who joined Atlanta before the 2025 season on a then-record transfer fee, was loaned in August to Union Berlin of Germany’s top league after a disappointing run with Atlanta. He had nine goals and three assists in 44 MLS games.
They replaced him up front with Breel Embolo, a 29-year old who helped Switzerland to the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals, where he started all six matches with two goals and two assists.
Embolo, an imposing figure at 6-foot-2, is a Designated Player. He has made 380 professional appearances and tallied 100 goals and 66 assists while playing in the top divisions in Switzerland, Germany and France.
For Atlanta, he has started all five matches in September up front, with one goal.
“Very strong attacking presence,” Noonan said. “The way they utilize him with the ball, how he moves off the line and behind. He's just a very well-rounded player and can beat you with speed in the right moments, can beat you with his ability to win a duel with how he turns, how he handles pressure, hold up play, disguise. There's creativity in the way he plays, and obviously he can finish off plays.”
Miguel Almirón and Alexey Miranchuk continue to be mainstays in the attack. Miranchuk has six goals and six assists. Almirón has four goals and six assists and set the club’s all-time record for assists in August. Tristan Muyumba has been a regular in the midfield all season. Recent acquisitions Guiliano Galoppo and Mauricio Amaro, both midfielders, have jumped right into the starting lineup in recent weeks, and Noonan said they are very talented players.
Defensively, Atlanta has only three clean sheets all season, two against D.C. United. Junior Alonso, 33, and Paulo Diaz, 32, signed with Atlanta over the summer and have added experience to the back line. Youngster Elías Báez has made 24 starts in the back. Noonan said that group and 37-year old goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos make for a strong veteran presence on defense.
Cincinnati is 2-4-2 all-time in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and coming off a 4-2 loss last year in May. Cincy had won the previous two meetings in the former Georgia Dome by 2-1 counts. Cincy is 1-7-6 on the road in MLS play, with that lone win still May 2 in Chicago.
FC Cincinnati statistical notes
Tom Barlow and La Salle graduate Kyle Smith have 199 career MLS appearances and could make their 200th in Atlanta. Nick Hagglund has 178 games with FCC and will tie Yuya Kubo for the club record with his next appearance on the pitch.
Cincinnati’s 55 goals in MLS play are nine away from the club record of 64 in 2022. They have 78 goals in all competitions, which is one away from the 2023 club as an MLS member, and three short of the club record of 81 set as a USL side in 2018.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati tries to end road woes at Atlanta United FC
