San Diego FC head coach Mikey Varas was thrilled his side got back to winning ways in midweek and hopes they can build on that against FC Cincinnati.

San Diego were winless in 10 matches heading into their clash with Austin FC, but after back-to-back draws, they thumped the Verde and Black 5-0 on home soil.

It was a victory that halted San Diego's slide down the Western Conference, and they currently sit 10th in the table after 13 matches.

And Varas was impressed with how his side rose to the occasion against Austin by doing the basics right.

"I think we were clean on the ball and, at the same time, vertical with it," said Varas.

"It was a good balance between having strong possessions and controlling the match.

"I also think that we got back to winning duels, traveling together, having that energy that you need play after play to give yourselves the best chance of winning a game."

As for Cincinnati, they were on the wrong end of a result by conceding five goals, losing 5-3 to Inter Miami – with Lionel Messi scoring a brace.

That was their first defeat in seven games (W2 D4) as they slipped to eighth in the Eastern Conference, and Pat Noonan believes naivety among his team has hindered them in recent matches.

"It's not just the last two games," Noonan said.

"It's a trend, and until we can fix that, which, right now, we clearly don't have a solution for, we'll struggle.

"There are some things that feel like basic plays that we're really struggling to make."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

San Diego FC – Anders Dreyer

Anders Dreyer recorded his 25th career goal on Wednesday to go along with 25 career regular-season assists.

It took Dreyer just 47 matches to reach 50 career goal contributions, the sixth-fastest to that mark in MLS history.

FC Cincinnati – Evander

Evander scored his 49th career regular-season goal in his 99th league appearance in Cincinnati's loss to Inter Miami on Wednesday.

He is trying to become the 24th player to score 50 times in his first 100 regular-season MLS appearances.

MATCH PREDICTION: SAN DIEGO FC WIN

San Diego and Cincinnati will meet for the first time. Cincinnati have won nine of their last 13 road matches against Western Conference teams (D2 L2), but lost their only such game this season (1-0 loss at Minnesota United in February).

San Diego snapped a club-record 10-match winless run (D4 L6) with a club-record tying 5-0 win over Austin FC. The five goals equalled the most scored in club history (fourth time) while the five-goal margin was also tied for the largest in club history (third time).

Cincinnati's six-match unbeaten run came to an end with a defeat against Miami. It was the third time this season Cincinnati conceded at least five goals in a match (all competitions), something the team did not do in any match in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

San Diego FC – 46.8%

Draw – 23.1%

FC Cincinnati – 30.1%