• Matchday 18: New York City FC vs Atlanta United FC
• Date and Time: Thursday, June 12 at 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Yankee Soccer Stadium, The Bronx, NY
• Forecast: Warm, breezy, beautiful 84F/29C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Neil Sika and Lloyd Sam (English), Jesus Acosta and Carlos Suarez (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Sergii Boiko (referee), Jeffrey Swartzel and Stephen McGonagle (assistant referees), Ricardo Montero Araya (fourth official), Jose Carlos Rivero (VAR), Jonathan Johnson (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the sky-blue Excelsior Kit, Atlanta will wear the black-and-red BLVCK Kit
It's Matchday 18, and New York City FC is hosting Atlanta United on a warm June night in The Bronx. The Thursday kickoff isn't just unusual for Major League Soccer, it comes close on the heels of one international break — and conflicts with a second break that's currently ongoing for select countries.
NYCFC had seven players called up, Atlanta United had more than ten, and it's unclear who will be available today. Three New York City players are still away – Matt Freese is with the United States men's national team, Mitja Ilenič is with the Slovenia U-21, and Alonso Martínez is with Costa Rica – and others, like Aiden O'Neill and Jonny Shore, are questionable after seeing playing time on Tuesday.
But Atalanta is also depleted. Some key starters saw game time on Tuesday, just 48 hours ago: Playmaker Miguel Almirón went 86' in Paraguay's 1-0 loss to Brazil in São Paulo, central defender Efraín Morales went the full 90' in Bolivia's 2-0 win over Chile in La Paz, striker Emmanuel Latte Lath appeared in Ivory Coast's penalty shootout win over Canada in Toronto, and midfielder Bartosz Slisz went the full 90' in Poland's loss to Finland in Helsinki.
But no matter who's on the lineup card, New York City will want to right some of the wrongs the team suffered this season in The Bronx. NYCFC has one of the better home records in MLS, with six wins out of nine played, but that record falls apart at Yankee Stadium, where the club has three wins and three losses.
In fact, NYCYFC has yet to record a clean sheet in The Bronx, allowing nine goals in the six games played at Yankee Stadium. Compare that to the team's record at Citi Field, where they are three-for-three with zero goals allowed, and you see New York City have some work to do if they're to return to the imposing home form of years past.
Hudson River Blue Staff
New York City vs Atlanta H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 30 | 25 | 5 |
The head-to-head between the two clubs is even after Atlanta's Matchday 6 win over New York City on March 29. That came on the heels of four draws in the previous four matchups: New York City last beat Atlanta way back on October 9, 2022, when Gabriel Pereira and Héber gave the team a 2-1 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
NYCFC's most recent win over Atlanta in New York City was on November 21, 2021, when Taty Castellanos and Alexander Callens scored in a 2-0 shutout to advance out of the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. It was just the third postseason win in club history and set the team on its way to winning the title that year.
New York City Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Keaton Parks (foot) and Malachi Jones (leg) are out with injuries. In addition, the New York City roster will be depleted due to the international break: Matt Freese, Mitja Ilenič, and Alonso Martínez are active with their national teams, while Aiden O'Neill went 90' in Australia's 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Tuesday. Jonny Shore was with the US U-19 in Spain on Tuesday as well.
• Keaton Parks reportedly re-injured his foot and is now facing "weeks" on the sidelines, a huge injury absence added to the list of players missing due to international duty.
• The good news: Kevin O'Toole is cleared to play. The left-back last appeared in Matchday 10, NYCFC's 1-0 road win over Toronto FC on April 26.
• Tayvon Gray is one yellow card away from being forced to serve a one-match suspension for accumulation.
• This will be a major test for backup goalkeeper Tomás Romero, who last took the field in an MLS match back in 2023 when he was with Toronto. Romero looked good when he played in the US Open Cup loss to Pittsburgh Riverhounds — he was easily New York City's best player that day – and will need to be at his best as he minds the next while Freese is away.
Hudson River Blue Staff
Atlanta Scouting Report
• Be sure to Read Oppo Research: 5 Things about Atlanta United, with Rob Usry of Five Stripe Final. He talks about Atlanta's struggles, a lack of chemistry on the field, and why 40-year-old goalkeeper Brad Guzan is their key to the game.
• You'll also want to listen to the latest episode of the Hudson River Blue Podcast with special guest Ronny Delia. We catch up with the former NYCFC head coach ahead of his return to Yankee Stadium.
Matthew Mangam
