Charlotte FC's predicted starting XI vs FC Cincinnati

By Ryan Donahue

Photo courtesy of CJ Hellner / TopBin90

After a disappointing result last week against Inter Miami, Dean Smith and Charlotte FC will be looking to bounce back against eastern conference leaders FC Cincinnati this weekend on the road. 

Since losing to Miami and Houston in recent weeks, Charlotte has dropped to sixth in the east; however, with a win against the conference leaders, the side could move back into the fourth.

Cincinnati, who recently thumped Miami in a 6-1 victory after defeating D.C. and Dallas, will be high on confidence coming into this home fixture.

In terms of key players for Cincinnati, Luciano Acosta will be key to the team's attack. In his 22 appearances so far this season, he has scored 10 goals and contributed 15 assists.

If Charlotte are to get a result over Cincinnati, they will have to do it without their key center forward Patrick Agyemang, who will miss the match due to a late red card in the previous game. Without Agyemang to lead the line and with Karol Świderski still yet to become available for selection, Smith will have to get creative with how he lines up his attacking front three.

Ahead of Charlotte’s fixture against Cincinnati, our team assessed how Smith could potentially line his side up against the league leaders.

Defensive unit

In defense, Adilson Malanda and Andrew Privett will both partner at center-back with the defensive pair having recently signed contract extensions it is almost guaranteed they will retain their starting spots. At outside back, Nathan Byrne and Jere Uronen are also expected to start.

Midfield line

In the midfield, Ashley Westwood, Brandt Bronico, and Djibril Diani as a trio would be the most likely starting midfield with Smith looking to control Acosta’s ability to create for his forwards.

Forward line

At offense, it is more than likely that Liel Abada and Kerwin Vargas will be the starting options on the wing however with Patrick Agyemang out with suspension Smith could look at giving the starting opportunity to luri Tavares who has featured off the bench so far this season as a second half option.

Another option Smith may consider is using Abada and Vargas as wide strikers in a false three with Brecht Dejaegere being an option to fit into the false central forward position.

For Charlotte to have success against this high-caliber Cincinnati side, Charlotte will need a sound performance from its defensive partnerships that have proven so difficult to break down this season. With Agyemang unavailable, Smith may be able to deploy an unpredictable attacking strategy that creates issues for Cincinnati's back line.

Predicted XI