BY THE NUMBERS | FC Cincinnati at Montreal

FC Cincinnati will make its third international trip of the season, traveling to Canada for its first match north of the border in 2024 for CF Montréal's home opener at Stade Saputo in the historic Olympic Park in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With kickoff at 7:30 p.m., fans can watch the match on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass and tune in locally on ESPN 1530.

Let's break this match down with some key numbers from CTI.

Cincinnati FC's matches with Montreal have always started hot, with goals coming early and often. The all-time series leader with the orange and blue CFM has a 4-3-2 and 2-2-1 record when playing away, but FCC scored seven goals in the first 15 minutes against Montreal.

All-time, FCC has scored 29 goals in the first quarter hour of matches, with the seven goals scored against Montreal accounting for 24% of those goals. Against no other team has FCC scored more than three goals in the first 15 minutes, including three against NYCFC and Nashville SC.

FC Cincinnati has been excellent in 2024, acting as a cornerstone and earning praise throughout the league for his work as the last line of defense. The defense is a full 11 strength for FCC, who regularly emphasize how important the work done by the midfielders and forwards contributes to their success, but the work in the defensive third of the field has been strong.

According to FBref.com and Opta, the Orange and Blue are tied for second in MLS with 70 defensive tackles this season, while Yuya Kubo and Matt Miazga lead the way for FCC with 11 apiece.

Also, ranked fourth in the league in wins overall and second in opponent turnovers, FCC stopped opposing pass rushers and stopped opposing offensive tackles early.

2023 MLS MVP and Cincinnati FC Luciano Acosta is the only active player to score a goal in Montreal for Cincinnati FC. He has registered three goals in his time with The Orange and Blue, including a thrilling 90+7 minute PK equalizer last season that equalized on a trip to FCC, the last equalizer in club history.

Acosta has recorded four goals against Montreal in his career, including his time with DC United before joining the Queen City. Yamil Assad and Sergio Santos both scored against Montreal at other stops in their MLS careers, but never for FCC.

On the other side of that coin, many of CFM's all-time top scorers for FCC are no longer with the club.

Joel Waterman, Mason Toye and Mathieu Chaunier are the only active CFM players to score against FC Cincinnati.

Under new manager Laurent Courtois, CF Montréal looked to find their footing and become their system for the first time under a top-flight manager. While it's hard to get a true picture of the club after six games, having played all six of them on the road, some interesting facts have emerged.

According to FBRef.com, CF Montréal has the fewest progressive passes in MLS so far this season with 139 and the third fewest in the league with 71. at least 10 yards or into the opponent's penalty area (with multiple concessions). A similar size, but the ball is at the feet of the player, not the pass. By comparison, FCC ranks in the top half of the league in both metrics.

Statistics may mean little independently. They are aggregate statistics, so Montreal CF, who have played six matches, may be disproportionately short compared to some other clubs who have played seven or eight. But knowing that CF Montréal is playing with an average of 43.5% possession (fourth lowest in MLS), a bigger picture emerges of how CFM plays.

So far this season, very few clubs have played without the ball like Montreal, taking pressure and pressing harder before quickly breaking down opponents, very little of Montreal's play this season has been with the ball at their feet or in attack. third. CFM ranks high in many defensive stats, including clearances and blocked shots, in line with their style of play, perhaps indicating what type of game observers can expect on Saturday night.

FC Cincinnati pressured the defense and had some great opportunities. Heading into Saturday's match with Montreal, FCC has won 43 corners, tied for second in MLS and just shy of leaders D.C. United. The Orange and Blue are also in the top half of the league with 99 free kick attempts.

Luciano Acosta leads all MLS players with 54 shot attempts and 8.4 shots per game, ahead of LA Galaxy's Ricky Puig and New England Revolution's Carles Gil. A “shot attempt” is measured as any pass, dribble, or foul that leads directly to a goal-scoring attempt. The FCC captain has been deadly from set pieces this year, scoring once and assisting on two goals.