New York City FC vs NY Red Bulls: Preview and How to Watch

New York City FC Board the Train For a Second Shot at NY Red Bulls

Just ten short days ago NY Red Bulls hosted a US Open Cup 4th round match with New York City FC. This weekend the red and the blue renew their rivalry in MLS league play on the same ground.

All of which brings to mind the immortal words of a legendary New York city sports icon: “It’s like deja vu all over again.”

Although it’s hard to imagine that very much has changed in the last week and a half, this weekend’s game does shape up as a different story. The stakes this time are city derby bragging rights and three points towards making up ground in the MLS East. Toronto FC leads on the Eastern Conference table, but they look much more vulnerable in June than they did in May.

Here’s the preview.

NY Red Bulls (H)

New York Red Bulls midfielder Alex Muyl (19) and midfielder Sacha Kljestan (16). Mandatory Credit: Chris Bergmann-USA TODAY Sports /

Current Record (W-L-D): 7-7-2
Last Time Out: Red Bulls defeated Philadelphia away last Sunday, 2-0. The Union played with 10 for much of the second half. Red Bulls took advantage of a very tired looking side to score twice in the closing minutes of the match. It was the second meeting of 2017 for the two teams. NYRB lost the previous meeting, also away. That prior loss began a month-long downturn for them. Red Bulls’ fans would like to think that with this latest win, the season’s script has officially been flipped.
Player to Watch For: Bradley Wright-Phillips is a scoring machine. But that’s not news. He’s been the club’s major offensive threat for several seasons now. Last weekend’s match in Philadelphia saw the return of Tyler Adams, however, and given the outcome it seems that the US U20 is emerging as key to his club’s fortunes. Without him, their season seemed to spiral downward. Since he’s been back from playing for country, NYRB are on a 2 game win streak.
Why They Win: Red Bulls have only lost once at home this year in all competitions. RBA has been (nearly) inviolate.
Why They Won’t: If there were a team that could derail NYRB’s current streak and home field dominance, it would be NYCFC. The blue man group from Yankee Stadium are on a 2 game win streak of their own in league matches.
Predicted Starting XI:

New York City FC

New York City FC midfielder Jack Harrison (11). Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

Current Record (W-L-D): 8-5-3
Last Time Out: NYCFC defeated Seattle Sounders at home last Saturday, 2-1.
Player to Watch For: Spanish superstar David Villa has rung the till 51 times now since joining MLS. Ten of those goals have come in 2017. He plays as a true striker both by position and by production. But it has been Maxi Moralez winning praise as the engine of NYCFC’s offense. The Argentine has a playmaker’s vision and has become the most worrisome for opposing defenders. He also has handed out a team leading 7 assists and collected 2 goals of his own for 2017. Even Villa thinks Moralez has made this year’s NYCFC side the best yet.
Why They Win: Moralez missed the match with Seattle, but NYCFC head man, Patrick Vieira simply subbed in Jack Harrison. The Etihad blue seems to run as deep in the Bronx as it does in Manchester.
Why They Won’t: Red Bulls are in the middle of a very challenging run of matches. Thus far their home ground has stood them in good stead. But the novelty of Tyler Adams’ return may have worn off by now.
Predicted Starting XI:

Score Prediction

Next: Predicting the Gold Cup Roster

How to Watch:

Where: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ
When: Wed. June 24, 1:30p ET
Channel: Fox Broadcast, MLS Live, Fox Deportes

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