New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC | 2017 MLS Match Preview

Sam Stejskal

New York Red Bulls vs. New York City FC
2017 MLS Regular Season
Red Bull Arena – Harrison, N.J.
Friday, Aug. 25 – 7 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN in the US, TSN 5 in Canada

The season series has already been decided, but there’s still plenty on the line in the third and final New York Derby of the 2017 regular season on Friday at Red Bull Arena.

New York City FC got the best of the New York Red Bulls in the first two MLS meetings of the season, beating their Hudson River rivals 3-2 at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 6 and winning 2-0 in Harrison on June 24. The Red Bulls haven’t gone totally empty handed against NYCFC this year, however, beating their rivals in the US Open Cup in June to set the stage for their run to next month’s USOC final at Sporting KC.

Both teams are hot entering Friday’s contest, raising the stakes even higher for this always-testy encounter. NYCFC have won three matches in a row and four of five. The Red Bulls lost their last MLS match, falling 2-0 at Portland on Friday, but that match came just 48 hours after their 120-minute Open Cup semifinal win at FC Cincinnati last Wednesday. Prior to the defeat at the Timbers, New York had won five of six in MLS play.

Friday’s match will have big implications in the Eastern Conference playoff race, too. The Red Bulls would pull even with third-place Chicago with a win ahead of the Fire’s match on Saturday, while NYCFC will likely need a win to stay within range of Supporters’ Shield leaders Toronto FC.

New York Red Bulls

Suspended: None
Suspended next yellow card: Bradley Wright-Phillips, Felipe, Sean Davis, Sacha Kljestan
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D Gideon Baah (broken leg, out for season), M Mike Grella (knee surgery, out for season), M Daniel Royer (knee injury), D Aurelien Collin (plantar fasciitis)

Projected Starting XI (3-4-3, left to right): Luis Robles – Damien Perrinelle, Aaron Long, Michael Murillo – Felipe, Kemar Lawrence, Tyler Adams, Sacha Kljestan – Alex Muyl, Bradley Wright-Philllips, Sean Davis

Notes: After winning the first four regular season Hudson River Derbies, the Red Bulls have lost three of the last four, including both played this year...The Red Bulls have conceded six penalty goals, the second most of any team in MLS. NYCFC have scored four penalty goals this year, tied for sixth most in the league.

New York City FC

Suspended: M Yangel Herrera (Yellow card accumulation)
Suspended next yellow card: Rodney Wallace
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D Ronald Matarrita (foot surgery 6/30, out 3-4 months), M Miguel Camargo (non-displaced hip fracture 7/20, out 3 months), D Maxime Chanot (hernia surgery 8/21, out 6-8 weeks)

Projected Starting XI (4-3-3, left to right): Sean Johnson – Ben Sweat, Alexander Callens, Frederic Brillant, Ethan White – Mikey Lopez, Alex Ring, Maxi Moralez – Rodney Wallace, David Villa, Jack Harrison

Notes: City have lost three of their last five away league games (2W, including away to the Red Bulls). In all three losses, City conceded at least three goals (10 total), while both wins were by a 2-0 scoreline...NYCFC had fewer shots on target than New England last weekend, the fourth time in their last five league matches that the opposition has had more shots on target than NYCFC. Prior to that, they had more (or an equal amount) of shots on target than their opponents for 10 consecutive games.

All-Time Series

After falling behind in the first two years of the series, NYCFC are starting to claw back against the Red Bulls this season.

Overall: Red Bulls 5 wins (20 goals) … NYCFC 3 wins (10 goals) … Ties 0
At New York Red Bulls: Red Bulls 3 wins (8 goals) … NYCFC 1 win (4 goals) … Ties 0