Expert analysis

Open Styles Point to Goals at TQL Stadium

FC Cincinnati score 2.8 goals a game at home while conceding 2.1. Columbus Crew net 1.6 goals away from home but allow 2.1 on the road. Both sides have produced three or more total goals in twenty-one league matches this season. The head-to-head record shows over two and a half goals in seven of the last ten meetings between these teams. Cincinnati sit ninth after one win two draws and two defeats in their last five outings. Columbus hold thirteenth place following four wins in five games despite their overall record. The matchup features two attacks that create chances regularly against defenses that concede on a consistent basis.

Analysis by AcePredictor 68% win rate

Result

0–2 MISSED

Our pick “Over 2.5 Goals” at odds 1.40 didn’t land — final score 0–2.

Match timeline

First half
Nick Hagglund ↓ Julian Malatini 18'
Gonzalo Tapia assist Brais Méndez 22'
Samuel Mawuena Gidi 28'
Teenage Hadebe 31'
Sekou Tidiany Bangoura ↓ Brais Méndez 45'
André Gomes 45+7'
Second half
Taha Habroune assist Gonzalo Tapia 54'
Ender Jesús Echenique Peña ↓ David Douděra 59'
Kenji Mboma Dem ↓ Tom Barlow 59'
Jamal Thiare ↓ Santiago Rodriguez 65'
Eric Bailly ↓ Steven Moreira 66'
Dylan Chambost ↓ Taha Habroune 66'
Lautaro Giaccone ↓ Gonzalo Tapia 79'
Gerardo Valenzuela ↓ Nick Hagglund 79'
Ayoub Jabbari ↓ Pavel Bucha 79'
Dylan Chambost 90+3'

This season

	FC Cincinnati	Columbus Crew
Over 2.5 goals	75%	72%
Clean sheet	7%	17%
Failed to score	14%	14%
Scored per game	2.1	1.5
Conceded per game	2.4	1.6
Scored home / away	2.8 / 1.6	1.5 / 1.6

Across 28 and 29 matches played this season.

League table position

#	Team	P	W	D	L	Pts
8	NEW New York Red Bulls	29	10	6	13	36
9	FCC FC Cincinnati ▲	28	9	9	10	36
10	NEW New York City FC	29	8	9	12	33
11	TOR Toronto FC	29	7	12	10	33
12	DCU DC United	28	7	12	9	33
13	COL Columbus Crew ▲	29	9	5	15	32
14	ATL Atlanta United FC	29	8	6	15	30

Recent form · last 5 finished matches

FC Cincinnati DDLWL

D vs Charlotte 3–3 Sep 12

D @ Houston Dynamo 2–2 Sep 20

L @ CF Montreal 1–3 Sep 26

W @ Atlanta United FC 3–1 Oct 10

L vs New England Revolution 2–3 Oct 14

Columbus Crew WWWLW

W vs Orlando City SC 2–1 Sep 16

W @ CF Montreal 2–0 Sep 19

W vs Inter Miami 2–1 Sep 27

L @ Orlando City SC 2–3 Oct 10

W vs Charlotte 3–1 Oct 14

Goals trend · last 5 matches

FC Cincinnati

Scored 2.2 avg

3 2 1 3 2

Conceded 2.4 avg

3 2 3 1 3

Columbus Crew

Scored 2.2 avg

2 2 2 2 3

Conceded 1.2 avg

1 0 1 3 1

Head-to-head · last meetings

3 FC Cincinnati

2 Draws

5 Columbus Crew

Jul 2026 Columbus Crew 2–1 FC Cincinnati Columbus Crew

Nov 2025 FC Cincinnati 2–1 Columbus Crew FC Cincinnati

Nov 2025 Columbus Crew 4–0 FC Cincinnati Columbus Crew

Oct 2025 FC Cincinnati 1–0 Columbus Crew FC Cincinnati

Jul 2025 FC Cincinnati 2–4 Columbus Crew Columbus Crew

Over 2.5 goals in 7 of the last 10 meetings.

Confirmed lineups

FC Cincinnati 3-4-1-2

18 R. Celentano G
11 S. Gidi D
6 J. Malatini D
15 T. Hadebe D
23 D. Douděra M
5 O. Nwobodo M
20 P. Bucha M
3 T. Malacia M
10 Evander M
16 T. Barlow F
9 K. Denkey F

Bench G. Valenzuela, B. Anunga, E. Echenique, N. Hagglund, A. Jabbari, E. Louro, K. Mboma Dem, Bryan Josías Ramírez León, K. Smith

Pat Noonan

Columbus Crew 3-4-3

28 P. Schulte G
31 S. Moreira D
25 S. Zawadzki D
18 M. Amundsen D
2 M. Herrera M
20 André Gomes M
16 T. Habroune M
11 B. Lennon M
10 Brais Méndez F
33 G. Tapia F
8 S. Rodríguez F

Bench S. Bangoura, E. Bailly, D. Chambost, L. Giaccone, N. Hagen, Josef Martínez, M. Farsi, A. Sejdić, J. Thiaré

L. Courtois

Team news · injuries & suspensions

FC Cincinnati

OUT J. Martinez Knee Injury
OUT M. Robinson Injury
OUT J. Martinez Knee Injury
OUT M. Robinson Injury

Columbus Crew

OUT W. Abou Ali Knee Injury
OUT R. Camacho Chest Injury
OUT W. Abou Ali Knee Injury
OUT R. Camacho Chest Injury