FC Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew SC, MLS 2026 REGULAR SEASON
Overview
Match Preview
FC Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew SC — MLS at Nippert Stadium.
- FC Cincinnati 34 games · 46 pts (2026/26)
- Columbus Crew SC 34 games · 47 pts (2026/26)
Match Details
- Referee Robert Sibiga
- Referee Ted Unkel
- Referee Hilario Grajeda
- Referee Cory Richardson
- Referee
Standings
| # | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville SC | 34 | 77 |
| 2 | Internacional CF Miami | 34 | 60 |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 34 | 58 |
| 4 | Chicago Fire FC | 34 | 55 |
| 5 | Charlotte FC | 34 | 54 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 50 |
| 7 | Columbus Crew SC | 34 | 47 |
| 8 | FC Cincinnati | 34 | 46 |
| 9 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 46 |
| 10 | New York City FC | 34 | 42 |
| 11 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 42 |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 34 | 39 |
| 13 | Atlanta United FC | 34 | 33 |
| 14 | D.C. United SC | 34 | 33 |
| 15 | Montreal Impact FC | 34 | 26 |
| 16 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 64 |
| 17 | FC Dallas | 34 | 58 |
| 18 | St. Louis City | 34 | 54 |
| 19 | San Jose Earthquakes | 34 | 52 |
| 20 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 51 |
| 21 | Los Angeles FC | 34 | 47 |
| 22 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 46 |
| 23 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 46 |
| 24 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 45 |
| 25 | Minnesota United FC | 34 | 44 |
| 26 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 34 | 44 |
| 27 | Colorado Rapids SC | 34 | 43 |
| 28 | San Diego FC | 34 | 38 |
| 29 | Austin FC | 34 | 34 |
| 30 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 26 |
Head-to-Head
Recent Form
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Aug | Columbus Crew SC | H | 0–0 | D |
| 25 Aug | Chicago Fire FC | A | 0–3 | L |
| 21 Aug | D.C. United SC | H | 0–0 | D |
| 29 Jul | Portland Timbers | A | 1–1 | D |
| 23 Jul | New York Red Bulls | H | 2–0 | W |
| 16 Jul | Atlanta United FC | A | 1–0 | W |
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Aug | FC Cincinnati | A | 0–0 | D |
| 24 Aug | New York City FC | A | 0–1 | L |
| 20 Aug | Chicago Fire FC | H | 3–0 | W |
| 29 Jul | Minnesota United FC | H | 1–1 | D |
| 22 Jul | Atlanta United FC | A | 1–0 | W |
| 17 Jul | New York Red Bulls | H | 2–0 | W |
Season Stats
| FC Cincinnati | Columbus Crew SC | |
|---|---|---|
| #8 | Position | #7 |
| 46 | Points | 47 |
| 34 | Played | 34 |
| 12 / 10 / 12 | W / D / L | 14 / 5 / 15 |
| 67 | Scored | 59 |
| 75 | Conceded | 52 |
| -8 | GD | +7 |
| 1.35 | PPG | 1.38 |
| 35% | Win % | 41% |
Key Stats
61%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (18 games)
H2H (18 games)
72%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
18%
Clean Sheets
FC Cincinnati this season
FC Cincinnati this season
26%
Clean Sheets
Columbus Crew SC this season
Columbus Crew SC this season
FC Cincinnati are 8th (46 pts). Columbus Crew SC are 7th (47 pts).
Goal Timing (This Season)
FC Cincinnati
0-15
6/3
16-30
5/11
31-45
10/11
46-60
8/13
61-75
6/7
76+
17/9
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Columbus Crew SC
0-15
4/8
16-30
12/7
31-45
7/7
46-60
10/2
61-75
7/5
76+
6/8
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Top Scorers (This Season)
FC Cincinnati
| Kevin Denkey | 17 G | 2 A |
| Evander | 14 G | 13 A |
| Tom Barlow | 10 G | 4 A |
| Pavel Bucha | 6 G | 3 A |
Columbus Crew SC
| Diego Rossi | 6 G | 1 A |
| Wessam Abou Ali | 5 G | 1 A |
Events
Match Events
- 0' And we are off! FC Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew SC — let the football do the talking.
- 4' Poor challenge from Maikel van der Werff. The referee spots it immediately and shows the Yellow card.
- 9' Columbus Crew SC is defending very well tonight not leaving a chance for their rivals to get through for a goal.
- 11' Controversy at the stadium! Joe Gyau argues furiously but the Yellow card stands.
- 16' Jurgen Locadia has been relatively quiet despite scoring 13 goals in his last 346 appearances.
- 21' A tactical chess match is unfolding here. The question is which manager blinks first.
- 26' Kendall Waston has been disciplined this evening — perhaps mindful of those 0 cards already picked up this season.
- 31' Both teams are passing the ball around with high level of urgency. FC Cincinnati needs to do something about it to get closer to the goal.
- 36' Joe Gyau has certainly something to prove this evening. He made 1 appearances with only 0 goals this season.
- 41' Both keepers have barely been tested. FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew SC are cancelling each other out in the centre of the park.
- 43' Artur is having his name booked by the referee on 43.
- 48' The Array continues to deliver drama. Both FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew SC are desperate not to drop points on matchday .
- 53' FC Cincinnati started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 53.
- 55' Another change for Columbus Crew SC made on 55 minute. Youness Mokhtar leaves to be changed by Derrick Etienne.
- 60' Youness Mokhtar is a natural and has been asked to do a very specific job for Columbus Crew SC tonight.
- 65' Eloy Room needs to be pretty careful with his discipline considering 0 Yellow cards this season.
- 67' Another substitution for Columbus Crew SC to replace Pedro Santos by Ema Boateng on 67 minute.
- 72' A change in the FC Cincinnati ranks — Siem de Jong exits the field as Haris Medunjanin enters on 72.
- 74' Joshua Williams is having his name booked by the referee on 74.
- 79' The travelling Columbus Crew SC supporters hardly appreciate their team being pressed down to the backline.
- 81' The whistle greets Gyasi Zardes as he departs to be replaced by Fanendo Adi.
- 86' The referee is likely to let players tackle, as he already missed some meaty challenges during opening seconds. He is still to establish what should not be done by the players and what is acceptable on the pitch. It’s going to be a tough game for Harrison Afful suffering a number of foals already.
- 89' Controversy at the stadium! Yuya Kubo argues furiously but the Yellow card stands.
- 89' Caleb Stanko has so much to prove this time. He replaces Yuya Kubo on 89 minute.
- What a match! Full time at {STADIUM} — FC Cincinnati 0-0 Columbus Crew SC.
Lineups
FC Cincinnati Lineups
Starting XI
- 10
- 23
- 17
-
7
Yuya Kubo ↓ Caleb Stanko 89'
- 36
- 22
-
11
Siem de Jong ↓ Haris Medunjanin 72'
- 2
- 9
- 24
- 96
Bench
-
33
Caleb Stanko ↑ 89'
-
6
Haris Medunjanin ↑ 72'
- 14
- 8
- 19
- 4
- 12
- 1
- 3
Coach
Jaap Stam
Columbus Crew SC Lineups
Starting XI
- 1
- 19
- 4
- 25
-
11
Gyasi Zardes ↓ Fanendo Adi 81'
-
7
Pedro Santos ↓ Ema Boateng 67'
- 8
- 3
- 6
- 34
-
10
Lucas Zelarayan ↓ Fatai Alashe 67'
Bench
-
20
Ema Boateng ↑ 67'
- 13
-
22
Derrick Etienne ↑ 55'
- 2
- 16
-
26
Fatai Alashe ↑ 67'
-
9
Fanendo Adi ↑ 81'
- 30
- 18
Coach
Caleb Porter
H2H
H2H Top Scorers
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Gyasi Zardes | 7 |
| Lucas Zelarayan | 5 |
| Luciano Acosta | 4 |
| Miguel Berry | 3 |
| Pedro Santos | 3 |
| Isaac Atanga | 2 |
| Taha Habroune | 2 |
| Max Arfsten | 2 |
Head to Head
FC Cincinnati Form
Columbus Crew SC Form
2020-08-29
FC Cincinnati
0–0
Columbus Crew SC
D
2020-08-24
New York City FC
1–0
Columbus Crew SC
L
2020-08-20
Columbus Crew SC
3–0
Chicago Fire FC
W
2020-07-29
Columbus Crew SC
1–1
Minnesota United FC
D
2020-07-22
Atlanta United FC
0–1
Columbus Crew SC
W
2020-07-17
Columbus Crew SC
2–0
New York Red Bulls
W
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
1 / 4
1.35
FC Cincinnati xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.62
Columbus Crew SC xG
I would bet for:
FC Cincinnati or Columbus Crew SC 73% + Both teams to score 60%
Match Result
✗ WrongActual: Draw
Both Teams to Score
✗ Wrong
Avg goals/match: 2.97
Actual: No — clean sheet
Over / Under Goals
✗ O/U 2.5| Line | Over | Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ± 0.5 | 93% |
|
7% |
| ± 1.5 | 80% |
|
20% |
| ± 2.5 | 56% |
|
44% |
| ± 3.5 | 35% |
|
65% |
| ± 4.5 | 19% |
|
81% |
Double Chance
FC Cincinnati or Draw
60%
Draw or Columbus Crew SC
67%
FC Cincinnati or Columbus Crew SC
73%
Half-Time Result
✓ CorrectActual: Draw at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
1 – 1
12.1%
1 – 2
8.7%
0 – 1
7.5%
2 – 1
7.3%
0 – 0
Actual
0 – 2
6.6%
1 – 0
6.1%
2 – 2
5.9%
1 – 3
4.7%
2 – 0
4.6%
0 – 3
3.5%
3 – 1
3.3%
Asian Handicap — FC Cincinnati
| Handicap | FC Cincinnati covers | Push | Columbus Crew SC covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 5% | — | 95% |
| -2 | 5% | 9% | 86% |
| -1.5 | 14% | — | 86% |
| -1 | 14% | 17% | 69% |
| -0.5 | 31% | — | 69% |
| +0.5 | 58% | — | 42% |
| +1 | 58% | 20% | 22% |
| +1.5 | 78% | — | 22% |
| +2 | 78% | 13% | 9% |
| +2.5 | 91% | — | 9% |
Clean Sheet
FC Cincinnati keeps clean sheet
21%
✗
Columbus Crew SC keeps clean sheet
27%
✗
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.