Burkina Faso
Czech Republic
Lithuania
Montenegro
Nigeria
North Macedonia
United Arab Emirates

Preview: New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 11 May 2023, 03:11
The first edition of the Hudson River Derby this season will see a desperate New York Red Bulls side in search of its second victory of the MLS campaign when they host New York City FC on Saturday at Red Bull Arena.

Heading into this fixture, the Red Bulls are dead-last in the Eastern Conference, falling 1-0 to the Philadelphia Union last Saturday, while the Boys in Blue are winless on the road, losing 3-2 at Charlotte FC.

Match preview

Over in New Jersey, frustrations have been at an outstanding level, according to Gerhard Struber, and the club decided it was time for a change this week as both sides mutually agreed to part ways, bringing in Troy Lesesne as the interim boss for the remainder of the campaign.

The 39-year-old inherits a side currently on a seven-match winless run in this competition, its longest stretch without a regular-season victory since 2021 (seven).

In a high press system aimed to create turnovers without much possession, taking your chances is critical, and this group have rarely done that through 11 matches, scoring the second-fewest goals in the league (seven).

Their home defeat against Philly last weekend illuminated many of the recurring issues that the Red Bulls have been plagued with in 2023, fouling their opponents in dangerous areas several times, leading to a Daniel Gazdag penalty, as four of their 11 goals allowed this season have been their own doing (two penalty kicks and two own-goals).

They have conceded the opening goal in nine regular-season encounters, netting just once in the opening half all year and scoring four beyond the 85th minute.

With a mere nine points after 11 league fixtures, it is the worst debut to a Red Bulls campaign in over a dozen years when they earned that same figure during the 2009 season, which was the last time they missed the playoffs.

Lesesne began his tenure as manager positively as his Red Bulls advanced into the Round of 16 at the US Open Cup, blanking DC United 1-0.

The road woes continued for NYCFC last weekend with the Boys in Blue now winless in six straight regular-season games as the visitors, their longest run without an away victory in a single campaign since 2021 (seven).

When this four-game MLS road trip began, head coach Nick Cushing said that he would have a good idea of what the Pigeons are made of, but unfortunately, halfway through the trip, it has not been very encouraging.

Giveaways and poor set-piece defending have given this team headaches all season, with New York City conceding twice off dead-ball situations versus Charlotte, while the winner was an own-goal from Richy Ledezma.

NYCFC have conceded first in five of its six regular season road fixtures, and following its 5-4 victory over Toronto in April 2022, the Pigeons are winless in 15 straight regular season fixtures in which they have allowed the opening goal.

Although the results of late have not gone their way, the Boys in Blue should be feeling a lot better about their chances at Red Bull Arena this time around, ending an eight-match winless run in all competitions at that fortress last year (1-0) as they won both Hudson River Derbies by a combined score of 3-0.

The Pigeons have only won two of their 14 visits to Red Bull Arena, and have failed to find the back of the net on seven occasions.

Following its 1-0 defeat at the US Open Cup versus FC Cincinnati on Wednesday, the Boys in Blue have now gone goalless in four away fixtures this season in all competitions.

New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer form:

L

D

D

L

D

L

New York Red Bulls form (all competitions):

New York City FC Major League Soccer form:

D

D

W

W

L

L

New York City FC form (all competitions):

Team News

Dante Vanzeir still has two matches remaining on his suspension following his racial slur in their draw against the San Jose Earthquakes, while Kyle Duncan (knee), Frankie Amaya (ankle), Steven Sserwadda (knee), Matt Nocita (hamstring), Lewis Morgan (hip), Luquinhas (adductor) and Serge Ngoma could all miss another encounter because of injuries.

Andres Reyes leads MLS regarding interceptions (32) Cristian Casseres is tied for third in key passes (23), while John Tolkin has been one of their few bright spots offensively, currently tied for fourth in the league when it comes to assists (four).

Omir Fernandez had the only goal for them at the US Open Cup this week as Ryan Meara did not face a single shot, collecting the clean sheet versus the Black and Red.

NYCFC were without Matias Pellegrini and Tony Alfaro last weekend because of lower body injuries, while Maxime Chanot was on the bench against Charlotte as James Sands moved from his holding midfielder role to centre-back alongside Thiago Martins.

Gabriel Pereira and Santiago Rodriguez each scored in the defeat to the Crown, while the latter was involved in all three goals that his team scored against the Red Bulls last season, setting up the only one from former striker Valentin Castellanos in Harrison.

Talles Magno is without a goal in his last two MLS encounters, while Keaton Parks needs just one more to reach his entire output from the 2023 regular season.

New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:

Coronel; Reyes, S. Nealis, D. Nealis; Harper, Casseres, Carmona, Tolkin; Fernandez; Burke, Manoel

New York City FC possible starting lineup:

Barraza; Gray, Martins, Chanot, Cufre; Ledezma, Sands, Parks; Pereira, Rodriguez, Magno

We say: New York Red Bulls 1-2 New York City FC

Aside from last year, Red Bull Arena has not been kind to the Boys in Blue, however, NYCFC have not played as poorly on the road as their record indicates, and things in this league have a way of eventually evening themselves out.

The Red Bulls have not shown nearly enough when in possession to suggest that they have fixed their attacking frailties, and we believe the Pigeons will be able to find a way through a side that are about as low as we have seen domestically in quite some time.

How to watch

You can watch New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Previews by email
Show more

Top News

24 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea will reportedly have to pay a penalty price of £5m if they renege on their obligation to sign Jadon Sancho in the summer transfer window. 24 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly braced for competition from Tottenham Hotspur for the signature of Sunderland's Chris Rigg. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Virgil Van Dijk has reportedly decided to end his time at Liverpool, with Paris Saint-Germain touted as a likely destination. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Virgil Van Dijk has reportedly decided to end his time at Liverpool, with Paris Saint-Germain touted as a likely destination. 23 March 2025 talksport.com Chelsea must pay Manchester United £5million if they don't sign Jadon Sancho on a permanent deal this summer, talkSPORT understands. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk France dramatically completed a terrific UEFA Nations League comeback over Croatia as they reached the semi-finals with a 5-4 penalty-shootout win following a 2-0 quarter-final second-leg victory and 2-2 aggregate draw at the Stade de France. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Portugal advanced into the UEFA Nations League semi-finals after beating Denmark 5-2 in the second leg at home on Sunday night, winning 5-3 on aggregate after extra time. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Spain booked their spot in the semi-finals of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League courtesy of a penalty-shootout success over the Netherlands on Sunday night, with the two teams finally being separated after two blockbuster contests. 23 March 2025 talksport.com Michael Owen has revealed the formation he would have gone with to unlock the best of England's Golden Generation. 23 March 2025 talksport.com Phil Parkinson says win, lose or draw, Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have his back. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Julian Nagelsmann's Germany scraped into the semi-final of the UEFA Nations League after drawing 3-3 in a dramatic quarter-final second leg against Italy at Signal Iduna Park on Sunday night. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Egypt will aim to make it back-to-back wins in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers when they welcome Sierra Leone to the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday for a matchday six encounter. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk In-form Ecuador will make the trip to Santiago to face Chile in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday knowing they are within touching distance of reaching the finals. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton have reportedly identified Genoa centre-back Koni De Winter as a potential replacement for Manchester United-linked Jarrad Branthwaite. 23 March 2025 talksport.com Cristiano Ronaldo was denied from the penalty spot just six minutes into Portugal's crucial Nations League clash with Denmark. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Alisson Becker, Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes and Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes will all drop out of the Brazil starting lineup for Tuesday's World Cup 2026 qualifying clash against rivals Argentina. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul is pushing to start Tuesday's World Cup 2026 qualifying clash against Brazil in Buenos Aires. 23 March 2025 talksport.com Edin Dzeko has shown off the brutal facial injury he suffered playing for Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday. 23 March 2025 talksport.com Mohamed Salah wants to stay at Liverpool even though he hasn't yet agreed a new deal. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Argentina will look to officially secure their place at World Cup 2026 when they face rivals Brazil in Tuesday's clash at Estadio Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Morocco will look to continue their impressive start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they host Tanzania at Stade Municipal on Tuesday. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria have announced their starting lineups for Sunday's fixture in the UEFA Nations League. 23 March 2025 talksport.com It's almost been eight years since Andrea Pirlo retired from football, but he hasn't lost his world-class free-kick abilities. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Malaga's teenage winger Antonio Cordero ahead of the summer transfer window. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly set their asking price for Ferran Torres, with the versatile attacker expected to be on the move during this summer's transfer window. 23 March 2025 talksport.com Steve Bruce has passionately responded to Dwight Gayle after he claimed he 'didn't do tactics' when in charge of Newcastle. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji this summer. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Luka Modric has revealed that he is yet to speak with Real Madrid over his future beyond the end of the campaign. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Flash back to the first few months of Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur reign, where the Australian took a marvellous 26 Premier League points from 30 on offer, the most by any head coach in their first 10 matches in the competition. 23 March 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is reportedly giving serious consideration to returning to the Premier League during this summer's transfer window, with Liverpool said to be his preferred destination.