Pat Noonan insisted he would not look too much into FC Cincinnati's 4-0 defeat to Nashville SC, but added his team want to improve their position in the Eastern Conference.Cincinnati were on the end of their joint-second heaviest defeat of the season at GEODIS Park last time out, with Noonan's men blown away by two late goals in the match. Sam Surridge had given Nashville the lead just before half-time, with the hosts doubling their tally eight minutes after the restart when Hany Mukhtar fired past Roman Celentano. Bryan Acosta and Ahmed Qasem then struck twice in the space of seven minutes to conclude the rout, leaving Cincinnati sixth in the East after 22 matches of their campaign. Cincinnati did, however, register an expected goals (xG) value of 1.93 in the defeat, highlighting the quality of chances they had themselves.Since 2015, the only other team to have such a high xG while suffering a shutout loss by four or more goals is the LA Galaxy, who did so twice (1.94 in both May 2025 against the New York Red Bulls and July 2019 against the Portland Timbers).Cincinnati return to TQL Stadium this weekend to take on D.C. United, and Noonan is hoping to see a response from his team to get their playoff push back on track."They're at the top of the table," Noonan said. "We're not trying to catch Nashville now. We're trying to improve our play and improve our position in the table with each game."Stretching the field was one thing that we did really well. We didn't get a lot of that in the first half, but we also just didn't get a lot of good decisions that allowed us to attack more."It's a different type of game with some of the players that are on the field, and it was effective for them in the second half."D.C., meanwhile, come into this weekend's clash on the back of an impressive point at home to Los Angeles FC, which ended a two-game losing run in MLS. Rene Weiler's side were good value for the draw, restricting LAFC to an xG of 1.80 from their 19 shots, with only one of those forcing Sean Johnson into making a save. It was a quiet deadline day for D.C., with no new players coming in, though they did allow Caden Clark to join the Seattle Sounders. While Weiler has confidence that D.C. have enough to make the playoffs, he conceded that additions are needed when the next transfer window comes around."We had the purpose to bring in one, or maybe two, new players, but it didn't work out," Weiler said. "It happens. We don't want to make transfers that make no sense. "We don't want to bring in players for the sake of it. We know that we have to try and bring in players for the starting lineup and not just for the width of the squad."So, we have to be a little bit more patient. The transfer window will be open soon. I believe in my players. You only have to look at the last game. It was a great performance."PLAYERS TO WATCHCincinnati – EvanderOnly Inter Miami's Lionel Messi (29) has more goal contributions in the MLS this season than Evander (24 –13 goals, 11 assists). Evander has, however, only managed one assist against D.C. in the MLS. Only against Cincinnati and the Colorado Rapids does he have fewer goal involvements (both 0). D.C. United – Hosei KijimaLast time out, Kijima became the second MLS player since 2011 to have at least four completed dribbles and a tackle won while playing fewer than 15 minutes in a match.The other to do so was the LA Galaxy's Emmanuel Boateng in July 2018 against the New England Revolution.MATCH PREDICTION: CINCINNATI WIND.C. recorded a 2-1 win last May in their last road match against Cincinnati, as United have just one loss in eight visits to Cincinnati (W4 D3).D.C.'s 1.88 points per match at Cincinnati is their highest points-per-game average on the road against any MLS opponent.This weekend's visitors did, however, face 19 shots against LAFC, but just one of those was on target. It was the 93rd time since Opta began detailed tracking of MLS in 2010 that D.C. faced 19+ shots in a regular-season match, but it was the only one in which the club faced fewer than three shots on target.Cincinnati's 4-0 loss to Nashville was their second regular-season loss by four or more goals in 2026 (6-1 loss at New England) after having no such losses in 2024 and 2025. Cincinnati has 12 regular-season losses by four or more goals, with only D.C. having more (13) since Cincinnati joined MLS in 2019.OPTA WIN PROBABILITYCincinnati – 59.3%Draw – 20.7%D.C. United – 20%