Charlotte FC vs FC Cincinnati: 1 v 1 battles to watch
By Brian Maurer
Charlotte FC is coming off a disappointing loss. They were up a man for over 50 minutes and still couldn't find a goal or a shot on target. The Crown is back at the Bank this weekend, and they are up against FC Cincinnati, who they took four points off last season.
Charlotte Head Coach Dean Smith will aim to keep his club unbeaten against Cincinnati on Saturday and these are three key matchups that can help him do it.
Liel Abada vs Lukas Engel
The pressure on Liel Abada is mounting. Some of the excitement going into this season was Wilfried Zaha, Patrick Agyemang, and Pep Biel would all draw defenders and help open space, time, and opportunities for the Israeli attacker. Abada hasn't been able to get any momentum going, even with a full preseason, which was also supposed to help him get off to a faster start.
This week Charlotte's winger is up against Lukas Engel, Cincinnati's new left wing-back. Engel likes to spring forward and join in the attack so Abada will need to find a way to get into the space left behind and set up counter opportunities for the Crown. Of all of Charlotte's attackers he needs to get going with some end product, and a goal contribution in this weekend's home match against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference would be a great way to dispel some of the mounting concerns.
Ashley Westwood vs Evander
Earlier in the offseason, Cincinnati looked to have an MVP-sized hole to fill when Lucho Acosta started going public about wanting to leave FCC. In the end, the Orange and Blue replaced that hole with another MVP candidate, Evander. The Brazilian had over 30 goal contributions in all competitions last year for the Portland Timbers and he is starting to find the end product with continued reps in Cincinnati.
Ashley Westwood will need to keep an eye on Evander defensively as he is the new centerpiece of this Cincinnati attack who can create and finish chances. One of Evander's aims will be to combine with FCC's new club-record signing Kevin Denkey, and Westwood's job will be to reduce those combination opportunities from happening.
Patrick Agyemang vs Miles Robinson
Patrick Agyemang is another Charlotte attacker who needs to get on the scoresheet this season. Zaha was double and triple-teamed last weekend against Miami so Agyemang should be able to find openings if Cincinnati does something similar defensively. The American international striker needs to find a way to get the ball in those situations when all the focus is on Zaha.
Cincinnati has allowed 10 goals so far this year, and eight of them were scored by strikers. Agyemang has a tough matchup against Miles Robinson, but it doesn't matter. Agyemang needs to win some of the battles in the box and in build-up play to show that he deserves to keep getting starts.
Summary
This game is all about getting the attack going for Charlotte FC. In other situations FC Cincinnati might not be the best team to try and build attacking momentum against, but they are going to have tired legs after playing in Mexico midweek losing to Tigres UANL 3-1 in Concacaf Champions Cup.
The recent tournament elimination and extra midweek game should give Charlotte an advantage and their struggling attackers need to take advantage of this moment at home in front of their supporters.
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