Pat Noonan heaped praise on Orlando City SC, with his FC Cincinnati side set to host them in MLS action on Sunday.

Cincinnati are looking for their third consecutive league win, and their fourth in six MLS outings, having beaten Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2 last time out.

Returning to TQL Stadium after their fruitful away win, the Orange and Blue will be hoping they can continue to build momentum going into the playoffs.

Despite sitting second in the Eastern Conference, Noonan's side have won just twice in their last six home games, failing to score in three.

Meanwhile, Orlando are in hot pursuit of a playoff spot of their own, as they occupy sixth place in the East.

"On our side of things, we've had a couple of stronger performances with attacking ideas, and how we are getting to goal and finishing plays off," said Noonan. 

"On the defensive side of the ball, the last couple of games, there are places we've needed to do better.

"They are a very strong team. We have good match ups against them. They have had a lot of consistency with their group, personnel-wise. 

"They have a lot of really strong players. They have been one of the best teams in our league for years in my opinion."

After a last-gasp Duncan McGuire winner clinched Orlando a 3-2 win over Nashville SC in their last outing, Oscar Pareja will be eager for his team to finish the season strongly, and consolidate postseason place. 

"Against Cincinnati, we can see they have a good team," Pareja said. 

"They have strikers that they paid a lot of money for, but we are a team that are going to be prepared."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

FC Cincinnati – Evander

Evander has been a revelation since signing for the Orange and Blue from the Portland Timbers in January.

The Brazilian, who assisted all three of Cincinnati's goals against the Galaxy last weekend, has registered 30 goal involvements (17 goals and 13 assists) in MLS this term.

Orlando City – Marco Pasalic

Pasalic has started in all but one of Orlando's MLS games this term, with the Germany-born Croatia international chipping in with 15 goal involvements (11 goals and four assists) in his maiden MLS campaign, having joined from HNK Rijeka in January.

Pasalic scored the Lions' only goal in their 2-1 defeat to Cincinnati back in June.

MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN

The away side has won each of the last four meetings between Cincinnati and Orlando (two wins each). Noonan's team are looking to win consecutive matches in the fixture for the second time by either club, after they won both matches in the 2022 season.

And after their 3-2 win over the Galaxy, Cincinnati have now won seven regular-season matches when conceding multiple goals since the beginning of 2024. Over the last two seasons, the only MLS team with more such wins is the Columbus Crew with nine.

Orlando, meanwhile, ended their five-match winless run across all competitions with a home win over Nashville. It was the Lions' 14th game this season with at least three goals (all competitions), tying with last season for the most in a year in the team's MLS era.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

FC Cincinnati – 44.6%

Draw – 26.9%

Orlando City – 28.6%