Atalanta got off to a great start in the season by beating Nashville 2-1 and are ranked second in the Eastern Conference. In the meantime, Cincinatti lost 3-2 to the New York Red Bulls and are seventheeth in the regional table standings.
Atalanta have hosted three matches this year, two of them friendlies out of which they won once and drew in the other. Their third match was a CONCACAF Champions League Round One game against Motagua, which they won 3-0. Gonzalo Martinez scored a brace, while Josef Martinez completed the rout.
However, Josef Martinez pulled his anterior cruciate ligament and will be unavailable for several matches, requiring a critical change in formation as he was an instrumental player for the team.
FC Cincinatti had played four friendly matches on the road in the pre-season winning three times and losing once. In the match against Cincinatti, Allan Cruz and Jurgen Locadia scored the goals but their effort came a bit too late.
Being the start of a season, the two sides will be at their best game, and we expect an exciting match for all of the ninety minutes. We expect both teams to score in the match and for it to end with over 2.5 goals.