The first edition of the Hudson River Derby this season will see a desperate New York Red Bulls side in search of a 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
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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, their 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.
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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 their six regular season road fixtures, and following a 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 a 1-0 defeat in 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.
- D
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
New York City FC form (all competitions):
- D
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
Team News
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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, but 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.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
