FC Cincinnati will take its five-game unbeaten run and two-game winning streak to Bank of America Stadium on May 9, when it faces Charlotte FC at 7:30 p.m. The match will air globally on Apple TV.
The meeting arrives with both teams tightly packed in the Eastern Conference table, but Cincinnati carries the better recent form. Pat Noonan’s club is 4-4-3 with 15 points, tied for fifth in the conference and three points ahead of 11th-place Red Bull New York. Charlotte is 4-5-2 with 14 points and has dropped four straight matches in all competitions.
The numbers only tell part of the story. Cincinnati has never won in Charlotte, and the hosts have made that trip especially hard for visiting teams since entering MLS in 2022. Charlotte has the second-most home wins in the league over that span with 41, and its 139 points are fourth-most in MLS since joining the competition. That home record, along with the all-time series edge, gives the matchup a different edge than the standings suggest.
Noonan said Charlotte remains difficult because of how organized and experienced it is, especially at home. He pointed to the way the team creates isolation for its wingers, attacks the box with hard runs and stays disciplined without the ball. He also singled out goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, the 2024 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, as a major factor after the keeper moved into third place in total saves this season.
Charlotte’s attack still runs through Pep Biel, who leads the team with five goals and four assists, while captain Ashley Westwood gives the side its center of gravity in midfield. Noonan also said Miles Robinson and Obinna Nwobodo would be available for Charlotte, while Alvas Powell took a knock in training and will be evaluated. Teenage Hadebe is a couple of weeks away. On Cincinnati’s side, Pavel Bucha is a full-go after taking a hard hit to the ankle late in the Chicago match, after which he feared the contact might have caused a break.
The challenge for Cincinnati is familiar: keep the streak alive in a place where it has never broken through, and do it against a home team that has built one of the league’s toughest venues since 2022. If the visitors leave with anything, it will come from matching Charlotte’s work rate and finding a way through a game that has not tended to bend in their favor.
