A marathon penalty shootout victory in the second game against New York Red Bulls saw FC Cincinnati advance to this stage but I have some concerns about them ahead of their clash with Philadelphia Union.

The first is the playoff pedigree the Union possesses. Jim Curtin’s side have been terrific in the postseason the past few years, reaching the MLS Cup last season. The season before, they made it to the conference finals, losing to eventual champions NYC FC.

Cincinnati were already suffering from injuries to key defenders, most notably Nick Hagglund, and there is a chance they will be without Matt Miazga – who was recently named the MLS Defender of the Year – for the next game, so they will be desperate for him to be available for selection. But they have a reliable goalkeeper in Roman Celentano, who helped Cincinnati to achieve the third-most clean sheets in league play this season.

However, Cincinnati play an exciting brand of attacking football and in Luciano Acosta (second MLS topscorer with 17 goals and 13 assists and MLS MVP Winner) they have someone in great scoring form who is also the side’s most creative player and links up incredibly well with forward Brandon Vazquez.

The wing-backs also play an important role in Cincinnati’s forward play, particularly Alvaro Barreal on the left who scored two goals in the first game against the Red Bulls and has a lot of assists from wide this season.

It’s important also to remember that Cincinnati has been the best team in the league during the whole season, between both conferences. They finished at the top of the East Conference with 20 wins and just 5 defeats in 34 games and 69 points, while Philadelphia Union finished 4th with 55 points.

Cincinnati has also been the best home team between both Conferences, gaining 41 points (13W/2D/2L) in their 17 home games. Philadelphia has won just 5 away games of 17 played.

Philadelphia won both of their games against New England Revolution to reach this stage. They were a bit lucky in the second game as New England Revolution received a red card at 45’ when the match was still 0:0.

They have an interesting front three of Julian Carranza, Daniel Gazdag and Mikael Uhre who link up so well in attack and, once again, if they are to be successful, this trio will have to play well.

Carranza suffered an injury in the first game against New England but has returned to training, so hopefully he’ll be fit again, but Kai Wagner is still suspended which is a major blow because he’s such a dangerous player breaking forward from left-back.

But the return of Glesnes could solidify a backline that blanked New England on the road to advance to this point of the playoffs and has conceded just four goals over their last four matches. It’s also important given the presence of likely MLS MVP winner (Luciano Acosta).

So, both teams are without key players but Cincinnati were the best-performing team in the league this season, winning the Supporters’ Shield, and I think they’re stronger than Philly so will get the win. Philadelphia will try to achieve another draw here, as they have been doing during the whole season. But Cincinnati, who has been the favorite since the beginning to win the title and the playoffs, has also been a very strong home team during the whole season, the best team in the league, so I see them winning here.

在与纽约红牛队的第二场比赛中，辛辛那提足球俱乐部在点球大战中取得了马拉松式的胜利，使他们进入了这个阶段，但在与费城联盟队的比赛之前，我对他们有些担心。

首先是联盟拥有的季后赛血统。吉姆·科廷的球队在过去几年的季后赛中表现出色，上赛季打进了美国职业足球大联盟杯。上个赛季，他们进入了分区决赛，输给了最终的冠军纽约FC。

辛辛那提队的主要后卫已经受伤，最著名的是尼克·赫格隆德，他们很有可能在下一场比赛中失去马特·米亚兹加——他最近被评为MLS年度最佳防守球员，所以他们非常希望他能入选。但他们有一个可靠的门将罗曼·塞伦塔诺，他帮助辛辛那提在本赛季的联赛中取得了第三多的零封。

然而，辛辛那提打出了令人兴奋的进攻足球品牌，卢西亚诺·阿科斯塔(17球13助攻，美国职业足球大联盟第二射手，美国职业足球大联盟MVP得主)，他们拥有一个得分状态极佳的球员，他也是球队最有创造力的球员，与前锋布兰登·巴斯克斯配合得非常好。

边后卫在辛辛那提队的前锋中也扮演着重要的角色，尤其是左路的巴雷亚尔，他在对阵红牛的第一场比赛中打进两球，本赛季他在边路助攻了很多。

同样重要的是要记住，辛辛那提在整个赛季中都是联盟中最好的球队，在两个会议之间。他们在34场比赛中以20胜5负的成绩排在东部第一，得到69分，而费城联盟队以55分排名第四。

辛辛那提也是两个联盟中最好的主场球队，在他们的17场主场比赛中得到41分(13W/2D/2L)。费城在17场比赛中只赢了5场客场比赛。

费城赢得了对新英格兰革命队的两场比赛，进入了这个阶段。他们在第二场比赛中有点幸运，因为新英格兰革命队在比赛仍为0:0的时候在45分得到了一张红牌。

他们有卡兰萨、加斯达格和乌尔组成的有趣的锋线三人组，他们在进攻端配合得很好，再一次，如果他们想要取得成功，这三人组必须发挥出色。

卡兰萨在对阵新英格兰的第一场比赛中受伤，但他已经恢复了训练，所以希望他能恢复健康，但是凯·瓦格纳仍然被禁赛，这对他来说是一个重大打击，因为他是一名从左后卫突进的危险球员。

但格莱斯内斯的回归可能会巩固新英格兰队的后防线，新英格兰队在过去四场比赛中只丢了四个球。考虑到可能的MLS MVP得主(卢西亚诺·阿科斯塔)的存在，这也很重要。

所以，两支球队都没有关键球员，但辛辛那提是本赛季联盟中表现最好的球队，赢得了支持者盾，我认为他们比费城人更强大，所以会赢。费城将尝试在这里取得另一场平局，就像他们整个赛季所做的那样。但是辛辛那提队，从一开始就是夺冠和季后赛的热门球队，在整个赛季中都是一支非常强大的主场球队，是联盟中最好的球队，所以我认为他们会赢。