Matchday 32: New York City vs Red Bulls in New Jersey

It’s more than just Matchday 32, it’s the 32nd edition of the Hudson River Derby, which has New York City FC crossing state lines to play New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena Sports Illustrated Stadium.

Emotions always run high when these two teams meet, but there’s more than bragging rights on the line this time. New York City are looking to bounce back from the 4-0 drubbing on Wednesday night at home by Inter Miami that saw them suffer their worst defeat of the season in front of more than 40,000 fans. NYCFC are gunning for a Top 4 spot in the Eastern Conference, and that means climbing the table with just three games left to play.

If they’re going to get a result today, it will be without striker Alonso Martínez, who is sidelined with a leg issue. He isn’t just the team’s leading goalscorer, Martínez shapes how NYCFC play: His ability to run in-behind keeps the opposing defenders on edge and opens up space for the midfield. Head Coach Pascal Jansen will need to find a creative solution if New York City are to beat Red Bulls in New Jersey for just the fourth time in club history.

As for Red Bulls, they’re on track to miss the playoffs for the first time in 15 years and bring their MLS-best qualification streak to an end. If they are to have any hope of sneaking into the postseason, they’ll need to find a way to win tonight — and for this hit-or-miss squad to live up to their impressive home record of 10W-3D-2L so far this season.

What you need to know about the 32nd Hudson River Derby

We look at what’s on the line when New York City FC face New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium this Saturday, and at why there’s so much bad blood between these two teams.

Hudson River BlueMark Radigan

New York City vs Red Bulls H2H, All Comps

Red Bulls not only decisively lead the head-to-head between these two clubs, they have more wins (16) and goals scored (49) against NYCFC than any other team in the league. It ain’t even close.

New York City vs Red Bulls H2H, Regular Season

That is, if you count matchups in all competitions. The head-to-head is much more even when looking at regular-season games, where it’s 11 wins apiece. Give credit to NYCFC, who now have the edge in league matchups after years of domination by Red Bulls: New York City are riding a three-game winning streak in regular-season games, and have a record of 5W-2D-3L in the last 10 played.

New York City shut out Red Bulls 2-0 when the two met on May 17 at Citi Field in Matchday 17, and they routed them 5-1 when they faced each other in New Jersey last year.

The Men in Blazers Hudson River Derby episode drops today

Here are 5 takeaways from the Hudson River Derby edition of the Men in Blazers podcast.

Hudson River BlueOliver Strand

New York City Scouting Report

• Player Availability: Nico Cavallo (leg), Malachi Jones (leg), Alonso Martínez (leg), and Keaton Parks (blood flow issues in leg) are Out.
• How will Jansen account for the missing Martínez? On Wednesday, both Nico Fernández and Maxi Moralez filled in at striker but were held scoreless. Does he roll the dice with Seymour Reid? After all, the 17-year-old is officially the team’s second-choice striker. Or does he rotate through Julián Fernández, Agustín Ojeda, and Hannes Wolf, and have them make incursions from the wings?
• New York City’s sudden lack of firepower in the attack will put pressure on the defense to contain the Red Bulls attacking tandem of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Emil Forsberg. Pascal Jansen has gone back and forth between either Justin Haak or new arrival Raul Gustavo as his preferred starter at left-center-back, and that choice might loom large in this match.
• Maxi Moralez will be making his 19th career appearance against the Red Bulls (should he be in the lineup as expected) across all competitions, the most by a New York City FC player. He has five goals in those appearances, putting him in a three-way tie with David Villa and Taty Castellanos for the most goals scored against the Red Bulls by a New York City FC player. He also has five assists.

Red Bulls Scouting Report

• Player Availability: Forwards Wiktor Bogacz (ankle) and Lewis Morgan (thigh), midfielder Cameron Harper (knee), and goalkeeper AJ Marucci (cruciate ligament injury) are all Out.
• Sports Illustrated Stadium has been a fortress this year. Red Bulls have just two home losses in 15 games played, and even found a way to defeat Supporters’ Shield-leading Philadelphia Union for the first time in recent memory. Their last home loss came at the hands of Inter Miami, who steamrolled them 5-1 on July 19.
• It’s been all-or-nothing for RBNY goalkeeper Carlos Coronel against NYCFC. He’s kept seven clean sheets in 13 career appearances in the Derby across all competitions, the most of any goalkeeper in the history of the rivalry. Yet Coronel also conceded multiple goals while losing three straight MLS league matches against New York City, bringing his all-time record in the head-to-head to 6W-2D-5L heading into his 14th potential clash with NYCFC.
• Looking to learn more about this Red Bulls squad? Be sure to read “Oppo Research: 5 Things about New York Red Bulls.”

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Hudson River BlueOliver Strand