(Photo credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images)

Two middling teams in the Eastern Conference clash Saturday night when FC Cincinnati takes on host Charlotte FC.

Cincinnati (4-4-3, 15 points) arrives on the upswing after beating the New York Red Bulls and Chicago to vault back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. It sits sixth in the Eastern Conference with potential for more by getting guys back from injury to be close to full strength.

'The idea is not to play guys out of position,' head coach Pat Noonan said. 'It was a unique stretch there and, hopefully with the healthy (players) of those returning, we can get guys in more comfortable positions and have better depth, better health and better competition.'

In their most recent match last Saturday at Chicago, their star, Evander, netted his first career hat trick in a 3-2 gut-check win. Evander ranks second on the team with five goals, one behind Kevin Denkey.

Charlotte (4-5-2, 14 points) comes into Saturday night having lost its last five MLS regular-season matches. It also lost in the Round of 16 in the U.S. Open Cup last week.

After a 4-0-2 start, Charlotte FC hasn't won since April 18 to drop to seventh in the Eastern Conference. They lost two of those MLS regular-season games by multiple goals, but their most recent match was a 1-0 loss to the New England Revolution last Saturday. It was a hard-fought effort from Charlotte, but it still did not stop its losing streak.

'I thought the players pressed extremely well,' head coach Dean Smith said. 'But, we must improve on what we did, but also know that the opposition is going to play a little bit differently as well.'

Midfielder Pep Biel leads Charlotte with five goals, one of six players with multiple goals.

Charlotte leads the all-time series 4-2-2 and it swept Cincinnati last year. Cincinnati hasn't beaten Charlotte since September 2023.

--Field Level Media