Preview: FC Cincy, Columbus Crew reconvene at TQL Stadium for sold-out 'Hell is Real'

The match FC Cincinnati supporters circle on their calendar, bold in Sharpie marker and underscore multiple times has finally arrived.

Columbus Crew on Saturday will trek south roughly two hours for the TQL Stadium edition of the twice-annual rivalry grudge match that is the "Hell is Real" derby (7:30 p.m.).

Named for the recognizable billboards facing southbound Interstate 71 in Mount Sterling, Ohio, Saturday's FC Cincinnati-Columbus Crew derby will be the 12th game of the growing history of the rivalry series that was born with FCC's 2017 win in the U.S. Open Cup.

Columbus has largely dominated the series since then, losing just once to Cincinnati in the intervening years and maintaining a 5-2-4 edge against FCC. But these games never lack for drama and flair because bragging rights are on the line (the clubs meet in Columbus Aug 20).

The focus on the matches between these clubs is singular. Supporters will use other successes as ammunition for taunts, but the truth is the head-to-head results are what matter most. So, when Columbus won MLS Cup in 2020, it was more relevant to "Hell is Real" savants that the Crew also won the season series against FC Cincinnati.

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And when FC Cincinnati qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs last season and Columbus didn't? FCC supporters were plenty proud to have something Crew fans didn't, but they also likely looked over their shoulders because Columbus won the season series again.

The clubs will resume their feud before what FC Cincinnati announced Friday morning was an already-sold-out TQL Stadium. On the secondary market for tickets, apps like SeatGeek indicated the "get-in" price for no-frills tickets would be about $90, too.

The latest on both teams

Columbus sits a respectable fifth place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference on a 5-4-3 record. It also turned its fortunes around midweek just in time for "Hell is Real" with a 2-0 home victory against Los Angeles Galaxy, marking the Crew's first win since April 8.

Lucas Zelarayán, who will play as the opposite number to FC Cincinnati star Luciano Acosta, is pacing Columbus with five goals and three assists. Cucho Hernandez, the ex-English Premier League striker who has been limited to six starts in 2023 due to injury, played an active role in Wednesday's win against the Galaxy and will be an ever-present threat for Cincinnati's defense to contend with.

"Those are two very strong players, very good players, game-changing players," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said of Zelarayán and Hernandez. "You can see that with their quality, even on the second goal (against L.A.) with what Cucho is able to do on the on the touch line and how he finds Zelarayán, and he finishes it off. They're able to do so many things to create, to open up the game. So certainly, we'll have to be mindful of that. But you like getting teams with their best players on the field. And having said that, you know, they still have some injuries along the back line and in goal where they'd like to be at full strength. So there are some absences there. But as you can see, you know, (goalkeeper Patrick) Schulte's come in and done a good job, their backline has had to have some different bodies in there, but they've done a good job. And regardless of the personnel, you can see both experienced players and some of their younger guys, they have a lot of quality and guys that can step in and cause you problems. It's a fun matchup, and obviously for different reasons. But we're looking forward to it."

FCC seeks more home history

FC Cincinnati's dominant, 3-0 win against CF Montreal on Wednesday made FCC just the fourth club in the modern era of MLS to start a season with seven straight home wins, and that distinction typically leads to success later on based on the three clubs that achieved it prior to Cincinnati.

Suffice it to say Columbus is the absolute last team FCC wants to see end its run of success at TQL Stadium.

Even with a short bench at the striker position due to recent injuries for Sergio Santos and Brenner Souza da Silva, and Arquimides Ordonez being away with the Guatemalan Under-20 national team, Cincinnati can be confident in its ability to score because of the recent surge in end-product from Acosta and Brandon Vazquez.

After not receiving as many tangible contributions as expected from Acosta and Vazquez early in 2023, Acosta now has goals in back-to-back MLS matches while Vazquez has goals in two consecutive contests including the U.S. Open Cup.

"Well, it'll be difficult to have a dominant performance just based on, like I said, the quality of our opponent," Noonan said Thursday morning. "I think (Wednesday) night's performance is probably as strong as we've been all-around. One of the things we talked about was how we wanted to attack and the hunger at which we wanted to go to goal and create chances and score some goals. Because we've obviously been waiting for a game like last night, and there were still goals out there. So, I was just really pleased with how we created and, you know, if we want to have a similar result and performance, we have to, again, get really good recovery so that we're fresh so that guys are stepping on the field and just thinking about playing the game and I'm confident we'll get there. But I'm not approaching this game and our group isn't to think about dominating, it's, 'let's have a strong performance and understand and respect what our opponent is capable of.'  But also having the confidence when we step on the field, which these guys have done, to have a strong showing in front of our home fans and hopefully get a result against obviously a rival and a good team."

Mild-mannered coaches

The players will have to supply the flashy personality traits this year if such things are going to drive "Hell is Real" narratives because the head coaches of the two teams aren't going to offer much flair. That's a noteworthy departure from the past.

Previously, you had now-former Columbus head coach Caleb Porter driving plot narratives before, during and after games with his words and actions, many of which were deemed inflammatory if you're inclined to support Cincinnati.

Most famously, Porter used the Crew's stunning come-from-behind draws at TQL Stadium in 2021 and 2022 to "shush" FC Cincinnati supporters, who responded from the grandstands as you'd expect them to.

Porter also enflamed the rivalry with his pronunciations. He memorably suggested FCC should be "embarrassed" for the 2-2 draw at TQL Stadium during the 2021 season against a shorthanded Columbus side that had a player red-carded and ejected from the contest.

FC Cincinnati fans strongly disliked the way Porter comported himself, but there's no debate that added valuable spice to the intra-state feud between the clubs.

After Columbus missed the MLS Cup playoffs last year for the second season in a row, Porter was fired, and his exit meant a sizable subtraction of color from "Hell is Real."

The players will have to do the smack-talking and gesticulating now because Noonan on Thursday spoke glowingly of Wilfried Nancy, the Crew's new head coach who moved over from CF Montreal in the offseason.

Noonan signaled it was unlikely he and Nancy, who is widely respected for his professionalism and achievements in MLS, would step in to fill the void vacated by the sometimes-demonstrative Porter.

"I’m sure when you talk about rivalries – I don’t want to speak for the opposition’s head coach – but Wilfried is a class act. I love the way he’s gone about his business with his team and the media," Noonan said. "I just think he has a really good approach to things. If you’re in (the media) or a fan, it’s probably not the best if you’re talking about the two personalities of the coaches because we’re probably not screaming at each other or disrespecting people in a way that’s going to add to the excitement of the game. Again, I don’t want to speak for him (Wilfried), but the way he conducts himself is very classy. That’s nothing against Caleb. That’s a different personality and I have a good relationship with Caleb. There was more history with him in the games there but I’m sure the two coaches in this particular case don’t give too much for the outside world to feed off it."

The game

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Saturday | TQL Stadium; Cincinnati

Stream/radio: Apple TV, ESPN 1530

All-time series: Columbus leads the all-time series against FC Cincinnati with a 5-2-4 record.

Cincinnati.com prediction: FC Cincinnati 3, Columbus 2.

FC Cincinnati

Record: 10-1-3 overall (8-1-3 in MLS; 27 points, first in Eastern Conference)

Goals for: 18

Goals against: 12

Coach: Pat Noonan - second year at FC Cincinnati

Projected starting XI:

Roman Celentano, goalkeeper

Alvas Powell, right back

Alvaro Barreal, left back

Nick Hagglund, center back

Matt Miazga, center back

Yerson Mosquera, center back

Junior Moreno, midfielder

Obinna Nwobodo, midfielder

Luciano Acosta, midfielder

Brandon Vazquez, forward

Dominique Badji, forward

Columbus Crew

Record: 7-4-3 (5-4-3 in MLS; 18 points, fifth in Eastern Conference)

Goals for:  23

Goals against: 14

Coach: Wilfried Nancy - first year at Columbus

Projected starting XI:

Patrick Schulte, goalkeeper

Steven Moreira, center back

Philip Quinton, center back

Gustavo Vallecilla, center back

Alexandru Mățan, wing back/midfielder

Aidan Morris, midfielder

Darlington Nagbe, midfielder

Malte Amundsen, wing back/midfielder

Christian Ramirez, forward

Cucho Hernandez, forward

Lucas Zelarayán, forward