CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati announced on Thursday the club will welcome the English Premier League’s Crystal Palace for an international exhibition on July 16 at Nippert Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.

Cincinnati’s inaugural season in the USL has been marked by solid performance on the field, and in the stands, as the club has been quickly embraced by the local community. The club set a new USL single-game attendance record this past Saturday as it welcomed 23,375 fans to Nippert Stadium as it hosted the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, which also marked the second time in four home USL games this season the club had drawn an attendance of more than 20,000.

Crystal Palace finished 15th in the Premier League this past season, and on Saturday will face Manchester United in the F.A. Cup at Wembley Stadium. One of London’s historic clubs, founded in 1905, Palace has been a regular visitor to the United States for its preseason training in recent years, and two years ago faced another USL side, the Richmond Kickers, during its trip across the Atlantic Ocean.

Managed by Alan Pardew, Palace has been led this season by Player of the Year Wilfried Zaha, who has previously played for England, while Yannick Bolasie and Connor Wickham each recorded five goals and three assists in the league to lead the team statistically. 

Palace will also face the Philadelphia Union on July 13, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC on July 19 as part of its preseason preparations.

“It’s a trip that I think will be good for the club," said Pardew. "As we prepare for our upcoming Premier League season, we had a number of teams that want to play us and we’ve taken this opportunity to go to North America to spread the word of the type of football we play."