FC Cincinnati is entering their most important stretch of the season.

Sitting atop the Eastern Conference (16-7-4, 52 points), Cincinnati is also tied for the lead in the Supporters’ Shield race with San Diego heading into Saturday’s home match with New York City FC.

This is the team’s first of three consecutive home matches against Eastern Conference teams currently in playoff position.

Cincinnati is coming off a hard-fought 3-2 win at Portland Saturday night, with All-Star midfielder Evander scoring his 16th goal in MLS regular-season play. It was also his first game in Portland since the club traded him to Cincinnati this past offseason.

“It’s good pressure,” Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said. “There are so many strong teams that are pushing for a Supporters’ Shield. The margins are small. You can see the results tonight, just how difficult it’s going to be for teams going on the road to get results, especially those fighting for playoff spots. This is what the games are going to feel like all the way through.”

The win was Cincinnati’s MLS-leading ninth road win of the season, giving them a league-leading 29 points on the road.

New York City FC (12-8-5, 41 points) is coming off a 2-1 home win over Nashville SC this past Sunday, to keep themselves in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

They are on a four-match unbeaten streak in MLS regular-season competition, earning points in six of their last eight matches going back to June 12.

New York City beat Cincinnati 1-0 back on May 4 at Citi Field.

“We know what’s at stake, and we know what it takes,” NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen said. “We know what we’re good at and what we are less good at, and that’s something you have to be aware of going into this final stretch in order to have the biggest chance of getting the results that are needed to get yourselves into the playoffs.”

New York City FC are led by forward Adrian Martinez, who has 13 goals in MLS regular-season competition.

–Field Level Media