Evander calls for 'more attention' from Cincinnati ahead of playoff opener

Evander has urged FC Cincinnati to cancel out any mistakes as they prepare for the first game of the first round of the playoffs against the Columbus Crew on Monday.

Cincinnati finished second in the Eastern Conference after a 3-0 win over CF Montreal on Decision Day and went unbeaten in their last five matches of the regular season.

In 2024, Cincinnati made it to the first round, but were knocked out by New York City FC on penalties after a draw in the third match in the series.

Evander, who joined Cincinnati in February, is cautious of Columbus and noted how important it is to be at the top of their game.

"It's a different environment now," said Evander. "The playoff format it's different, because you cannot make those mistakes that you would make in the regular season.

"You don't have time to recover anymore. You make a mistake, you're out, so we have to bring more attention to the games.

"I think we have the experience against them during the regular season, one not so good, one was okay, but we always can do better.

"It's playoff time. It's going to be a different game than it was in a regular season, and you need to be 100% prepared for those type of games."

Columbus, meanwhile, finished seventh in the East, with their 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls on Decision Day helping them to avoid the play-in round.

The Crew avoided defeat against Cincinnati in both games during the regular season (W1 D1).

Columbus are looking to improve on last year's result, when their MLS Cup title defence was ended in the first round of the playoffs by the Red Bulls, and head coach Wilfried Nancy wants to take lessons from that loss.

"There's a fine margin," Nancy said of what he took from the 2024 upset.

"I believe we had so many chances last year to win the games, but we didn't do it. What I've learned is focus on the next game and try to be the best you can. Don't waste your time trying to make assumptions."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

FC Cincinnati – Evander

Evander (18 goals, 15 assists) provided a goal and assist on Decision Day for his second straight regular season with at least 15 goals and 15 assists, doing so last year with the Portland Timbers.

Evander is the only player in MLS history to have a 15-15 season with two different teams.

Columbus Crew – Daniel Gazdag

Daniel Gazdag has scored four goals in his MLS Cup playoff career, with one goal apiece in four different matches.

Since the beginning of 2021, the only players to score in more playoff games than Gazdag are Denis Bouanga (six) and Dejan Joveljic (five).

MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN

Cincinnati earned their 20th regular-season victory on the final day of the regular season, marking the second 20-win campaign in the club's MLS history (also 2023).

They are one of two MLS teams with multiple seasons with at least 20 wins in the post-shootout era, along with Los Angeles FC (2019 and 2022).

Columbus won their most recent meeting with Cincinnati 4-2 on July 13, their eighth victory in 17 all-time meetings against them (D6 L3 since FCC moved to MLS).

The Crew have scored three or more goals in seven of those eight wins, including a 3-2 road victory in the 2023 Eastern Conference Final.

Columbus enter the playoffs as the lower seed in the first round for the first time since 2018. However, the Crew have advanced past their opening playoff stage each of the last two times they have been the lower seed in the playoffs: winning penalty shootouts to advance in both 2017 and 2018.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

FC Cincinnati – 44.9%

Draw – 26.9%

Columbus Crew – 28.2%