The Hudson River Derby returns this week, with both sides looking to make an impact as we approach the end of the 2025 Major League Soccer regular season.
This is the fixture that both fanbases circle on their calendars when the MLS schedule drops each season, an intensely emotional matchup that puts personal pride and city-wide bragging rights on the line with each crunching tackle and fired shot. But this weekend, the stakes are even higher.
New York City FC, already playoff-bound thanks to a 2-0 win over Charlotte FC on Saturday, are hunting for a Round One home berth after last night's season-worst loss to Inter Miami. On the other side of the river, the Red Bulls are languishing in 10th Place in the Eastern Conference, and fighting for their playoff lives with upcoming fixtures stacked against them. If they fail to make the postseason, it will end their record-setting 15-year streak.
Historically, the Red Bulls have had New York City's number. But the tide has changed in the last two years.
NYCFC have won three of the last four iterations of the Hudson River Derby in league play, and are now even in regular-season matchups. (Leagues Cup, MLS Cup Playoffs, and US Open Cup matches are a different matter, with Red Bulls undefeated in five matches.) New York City now has the opportunity to deal a killing blow to the playoff aspirations of Red Bulls, while simultaneously moving ahead in the league head-to-head for the first time in the history of the rivalry.
The Hudson River Derby is always one of the most tense, physical, and highly-contested fixtures in the MLS, and the 32nd edition will be no exception when both sides square off this Saturday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Here's everything you need to know about the 32nd edition of the Hudson River Derby.
1. NYCFC with the chance to end all hope
Despite last night's loss, the narrative surrounding New York City shifted over recent weeks, thanks in great part to the team's excellent turn of form following their exit from Phase One of the Leagues Cup. In the time since crashing out of everyone's favorite midseason tournament, NYC has won four of their last six games, including clean sheet wins away vs Cincinnati and vs Charlotte at home. A win for New York City would turn the heat on Charlotte in 4th Place as the Pigeons jockey for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The Red Bulls, by contrast, have sputtered since exiting the Leagues Cup, winning just three of their last seven matches, while losing three and drawing one. While one of those wins came against Supporters' Shield leaders Philadelphia, the club's inability to string together positive results has left the Red Bulls on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture looking in.
Major League Soccer| Eastern Conference Table
A loss for the Red Bulls would be a critical blow to their playoff chances. It would keep them below the line no matter the result of Chicago Fire's home matchup against Columbus Crew.
A Red Bulls loss and a Chicago win will all but spell an end to the playoff aspirations of the Red Bulls. True, the Red Bulls can't officially be eliminated this weekend, but the odds of advancing are all but insurmountable.
If you're NYCFC boss Pascal Jansen, the knowledge that a win will force your rivals to watch the MLS Cup Playoffs from the couch for the first time in 15 seasons should provide some motivation for this emotionally-charged battle.
Oliver Strand
2. The series is evenly split*
*Regular season games only
Historically, the Hudson River Derby is a fixture that's been dominated by the Red Bulls — at least until recently. Overall, the Red Bulls hold the series advantage with a record of 16-4-11. But, take away derbies that came outside of the MLS regular season, and the record is even, with both sides registering 11 wins.
New York City FC vs NY Red Bulls H2H, MLS League Games
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 34 | 38 | -4 |
It took New York City 10 years to pull level. Red Bulls won the first four Hudson River Derby matchups, forcing NYCFC to chase them season after season. However, recent history has NYC holding the momentum in this fixture, putting together a record of 3W-1D-1L in the last five meetings. The Pigeons scored nine goals across those wins, including five in the 5-1 win in Harrison last September, while allowing just three.
New York City FC vs NY Red Bulls H2H, All Comps
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 11 | 4 | 16 | 34 | 49 | -15 |
But Red Bulls have a decisive edge in non-league games, with a perfect record of 5W-0D-0L. Even more impressive, every one of those wins was a clean sheet: Red Bulls have scored 11 goals in non-league games, and allowed zero.
Three of those clean sheets belong to goalkeeper Carlos Coronel, who leads the competition with seven total since joining the club in 2021. Former NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson is in second place, with four.
3. Cloudy with a chance of goals
This fixture has a history of producing abnormal score lines, and this weekend could be no different.
New York City enter the match with the news that leading goalscorer Alonso Martínez is carrying an injury that will likely limit his minutes. But he is just one of six NYCFC players who scored on Red Bulls in the 2024 and 2025 seasons: This is a team that has found multiple ways to score.
Red Bulls, on the other hand, have had just two players score on NYCFC in that time — and both of them, Felipe Carballo and Dante Vanzeir, are no longer with the team.
The days of Bradley Wright-Phillips dominating the box and the Red Bulls dominating this fixture are behind us. Of the four players tied for second in derby goals, three are present or former NYCFC players. Strikers such as Taty Castellanos and David Villa loved this fixture, as both combined for 10 derby goals across their careers. Martínez, who has three goals in three Hudson River Derbies, is looking to follow in their footsteps — provided the Costa Rican will be fit enough to play on Saturday.
4. Both sides see red
This is one of the most ill-tempered rivalries in MLS. The 31 matches have seen a combined 12 red cards between the two teams, with eight belonging to New York City and four to Red Bulls.
The first came in the inaugural Hudson River Derby, when Matt Miazga was sent off in the 36th minute in a game Red Bulls went on to win 2-1. The most recent came on May 18, 2024, when Red Bulls defender Sean Nealis received a second yellow in stoppage time in NYCFC's 2-1 win at Citi Field.
Those 12 red cards in 31 matches are exactly three times the rate for New York City this season. NYCFC players have earned just one red card through the 31 league games played in 2025, while opposing players have earned three.
