(Photo credit: Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images)

For FC Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls, their performances in 2024 seemed like a tale of two seasons.

FC Cincinnati started strong before fading in the final months. The Red Bulls also faltered late before making a surprising run to the MLS Cup final.

This time around, both teams are hoping to sustain their consistency throughout the regular season -- and it starts Saturday night when the Red Bulls head to Cincinnati.

FC Cincinnati are coming off their third straight postseason appearance, and for a while last year, they were among the best teams in the league. Cincinnati won 15 of its first 22 matches (15-4-3) before finishing 3-7-2 and making a first-round playoff exit.

This version of FC Cincinnati will be looking to fill the void created by Luciano Acosta, who was sent to FC Dallas on Feb. 12 in a $5 million-plus transfer. Acosta scored a team-high 14 goals last season and stands as the franchise's all-time leader in goals (54) and assists (72), but he requested a move.

FC Cincinnati hopes high-priced additions Kevin Denkey and Evander can help compensate for Acosta's departure. Both players scored in their debut Wednesday during a 4-1 win over CF Montagua in a CONCACAF Champions Cup contest in Honduras.

'I think the character of the group is very strong, and that was evident when we were dealing with some challenging moments throughout preseason,' FC Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. 'When you see that behind the scenes and see how guys deal with difficult situations, that gives me plenty of hope for a high ceiling and expecting even more than what we saw (Wednesday).'

Evander totaled 15 goals and 19 assists last season for the Portland Timbers. Cincinnati ownership paid $12 million to acquire him this week after shelling out an MLS-record $16.2 million to acquire Dankey from Belgium's Cercle Brugge in November.

The Red Bulls reached the title game for the second time in team history last year despite stumbling down the stretch with a 1-5-3 finish. New York heated up with three shutouts in the postseason before losing 2-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup championship match.

'Last year was an 'A-ha!' experience for the whole team in that we realized, 'Oh, we can do it,' ' forward Emil Forsberg told amNewYork this week. 'When I said it then (how good we could be), everybody was just like, 'OK, we want to be a little bit better. We want to be better.''

New York will attempt to stay hot through the duration of the 34-game season with a lineup that features former Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. He joins Lewis Morgan up front following the losses of Dante Vanzeir and Elias Manoel as well as defender John Tolkin.

--Field Level Media