New York City FC enter this upcoming matchday with 10 games left in the season. The team are preparing to face Nashville SC at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, and with the three-game detour that was the 2025 Leagues Cup comfortably in the rearview mirror, this is the perfect time to look at where NYCFC are now — and what lies ahead in the final nine weeks of league play.
Here are five things to keep in mind as New York City's endgame begins.
1. July went well...
Heading into the summer, one of the biggest concerns for the club was the four-game roadtrip in July that sent NYCFC zig-zagging across the country to play in semitropical conditions on short rest. It was the sixth four-game roadtrip in club history, and one of the most brutal according to Hudson River Blue's Roadtrip Misery Index, a five-point scale of 🥵 to 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 that looks at conditions, logistics, and caliber of opposition. According to our totally scientific assessment, the 2025 roadtrip was rated 🥵🥵🥵🥵, equalling the team-high set in 2017.
Despite that, 2025 was New York City's second-most productive four-game roadtrip ever, with seven points taken and a zero goal differential. This year trails only 2019, when a fully stacked team took eight points in a roadtrip scheduled in May and June against relatively weak opponents, and that didn't feature any games on short rest. Nicely done.
New York City FC | Four-Game Roadtrips by Year
| Year | W | D | L | PTS | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -1 |
| 2023 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 3 | +4 |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 8 | -2 |
It could have been disastrous — if the team had taken just three points like they did last year, NYCFC would be sitting in 10th Place right now, looking up at New York Red Bulls and just out of a playoff spot. Instead, New York City are in a decent position on the table, and on track to make the playoffs.
2. ... but the Eastern Conference is unusually tough this year
Unfortunately for New York City, the Eastern Conference is exceptionally competitive in 2025, with 49 points as the projected cutoff to make the postseason. This is easily the toughest table since the playoffs were expanded to nine teams in 2023, when the cutoff was 43 points (and NYCFC's 41 points weren't good enough). Last year, the cutoff was just 40 points.
New York City FC | Total Points vs Playoff Cutoff by Year
