Nashville SC vs. FC Cincinnati
MLS Regular Season | Matchday 38
Saturday, November 7 | 3:00 p.m. CT
TQL Stadium | Cincinnati, OH
Broadcast Details
Watch | Apple TV
Listen | 104.5 The Zone
The curtains have nearly dropped on Nashville SC’s 2026 MLS season. The Boys in Gold have been one of the most impressive teams in league history throughout the year and sit just one game — and one point — shy of the MLS points record ahead of Saturday’s Decision Day. Supporters’ Shield-winning Nashville’s opponent is longtime rival FC Cincinnati, who it will look to beat for the second time this season.
Key Storylines
A battle of premier playmakers
Nashville and Cincinnati are blessed with attacking ranks many in MLS could only imagine. The teams are two of just four squads to hit 67 or more goals in 2026, eclipsed only by Inter Miami’s 77 and Vancouver’s 72. Both have at least one player on 17 goals or more, two in Nashville’s case. Both also have a player well within reach of the league’s assist lead, each on 15 assists or higher.
Let’s focus on that last one for a second. Beyond goalscorers, teams need someone who can create goalscoring chances. And in Nashville’s Cristian Espinoza and Cincinnati’s Evander, these squads have two of the best in MLS. Their battle will be a key determinant of Saturday’s result.
Espinoza has been one of the league’s premier wingers for the better part of a decade now, but has taken it up another level in his debut season with the Boys in Gold. After six years starring on the right flank for a struggling San Jose team, the Argentine moved to Music City as a free agent and immediately became a key cog of B.J. Callaghan’s offensive setup. His crossing ability, danger from corners and willingness to exchange with right back Andy Najar have proven a deadly combination, helping him to lead the squad in assists and sit third in total goal involvements, behind only Surridge and Mukhtar. He is one of just two active players and 13 overall to hold 100 or more career MLS assists.
Evander hasn’t been in the league as long as the 31-year-old Espinoza. But since joining in 2023, the Brazilian has become one of its most consistent performers and dynamic attacking threats, eclipsing 30 goal involvements in three consecutive seasons. Each of those campaigns has included at least 14 goals and 15 assists, a testament to his ability to affect the game in multiple phases.
Both players are on superb recent runs, too. Evander has a goal and four assists in his last four games, a run which included two assists against Miami. Espinoza was responsible for two goals in Nashville’s comeback win against Red Bull New York over the weekend, playing one pass that resulted in an own goal as well as the decisive corner kick that enabled Surridge’s stoppage-time winner. The Boys in Gold were able to shut down Evander in their August win at GEODIS, as well as the rest of Cincinnati’s attack. Whether they’ll be able to do so again may well decide Saturday’s outcome, just as Cincinnati’s ability to limit Espinoza and his service to Surridge and Mukhtar might.
A playoff preview?
Nashville has had its playoff spot confirmed for what feels like eons. The Boys in Gold became the first MLS side to secure its spot in the postseason after a 3-0 win against Chicago in mid-September, the No. 1 seed in the East a month later and the Supporters’ Shield a week after that. Nashville has known for nearly two months that it will be competing for an MLS Cup title and has worked each week to augment its chances at home-field advantage, a clean bill of health and favorable momentum. Check, check and, with one more result this weekend, check.
Cincinnati can’t say the same. 2026 has been a season of towering ups and cavernous downs. It has the conference’s third-best attack, one of the league’s most versatile attacking players in Evander and one of its best goalscorers in Denkey yet also boasts the third-worst defense in MLS, just four clean sheets all year and fewer total points (46) than Nashville has at home (47). Cincinnati’s form has been spotty, too. Wins against Philadelphia and D.C. and a draw against Inter Miami in its last three games are impressive, but make drastically less sense when juxtaposed with 5-0, 3-1 and 5-3 defeats to the Union, Montréal and Miami earlier this year.
The Boys in Gold’s model consistency already bested Cincinnati’s explosive, if erratic, tendencies once this season. Four different Nashville players scored in the 4-0 rout at GEODIS Park, including two after the 90th minute. But Saturday’s match presents a different test for both teams: the potential to foreshadow a postseason rematch. The Boys in Gold are chasing the final point to hand them the all-time points record; their hosts look to stay above the wild card line and improve their playoff seeding. A Cincinnati loss and a Columbus win would send the former down to eighth in the conference table, meaning Cincinnati and Nashville could meet in the first round of the postseason. A Cincinnati win and Philadelphia loss/draw, meanwhile, could propel it into sixth and set up a first-round matchup with New England instead of Miami.
In other words, even if both teams’ postseason spots are set, there’s plenty still to play for at TQL Stadium. And be it a preview of a rematch in two weeks’ time or the latest installment of one of MLS's most dynamic rivalries, you’re not going to want to miss it.
Series History & What’s Next
Nashville and Cincinnati have a long and fierce rivalry with one another, dating back to each club’s days in the USL. Their shared tenure in MLS has been split evenly with four wins apiece, though the Boys in Gold hold a 23-16 goals advantage. Mukhtar leads all players in total goal involvements in the rivalry, with nine assists and a goal to his name. Surridge leads the series in scoring with four goals in four appearances.
Nashville takes a well-deserved, well-won two weeks off before returning to GEODIS Park for the start of the MLS Cup Playoffs, which it will host through the final should it advance that far. The opening game of its best-of-three first round will take place on Sunday, Nov. 22, against the winner of the wild card round.
The Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs Are Coming up!
The Boys in God clinched the No. 1 seed in the East, ensuring home-field advantage throughout the Playoffs. Get N now!
