On Friday, New York City FC will host the Columbus Crew at Yankee Stadium in a matchup featuring two of the hottest teams in Major League Soccer.
An emphatic 5-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes vaulted the Pigeons up to third in the Eastern Conference table, five points above the reigning MLS Cup champions, who defeated Orlando City 2-0 in their previous league contest.
Match preview
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Nearly everything went wrong for New York City at the beginning of the 2024 regular season, but almost everything has gone right for them over the past couple of months.
From the start of April until now, the Boys in Blue have suffered just one domestic defeat (2-0 versus the Colorado Rapids), while they enter this upcoming game on a five-match winning run in MLS.
Through all of the rough stretches this team incurred at the start of 2024, losing four of their opening five league games, manager Nick Cushing has remained patient with this young group, and that patience has paid off as we are witnessing a youthful squad who have matured a lot this year.
Among the big improvements on their current run has been their ability to find an extra gear in tight matches, with five of their previous six victories in this competition being by a single goal.
Their victory against the Quakes was the first time they netted five times in a regular season fixture since April 2022 (5-4 win over Toronto), while New York also equalled their longest winning run in a single domestic campaign from 2019 (five matches).
NYCFC have won their last four MLS encounters played at Yankee Stadium, which is one more than they managed in the Bronx a season ago.
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The Crew have had two weeks to recover from their CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) defeat versus Pachuca (3-0), in which they were second-best throughout the encounter.
Coming into this fixture, they are on a three-match winning run in MLS, sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference, a point behind Charlotte FC for fifth.
Due to the packed schedule with the CCC, the Crew have their share of games in hand on opposing teams, playing the fewest matches in the regular season (14).
In his second season as head coach Wilfried Nancy has guided this side to 24 points domestically, six more than they had at this stage a year ago.
While they still have a lot of ball possession and like to push their fullbacks high up the field, this team have been much tidier defensively in transition compared to 2023, conceding fewer goals than anyone in the league this year (13).
Columbus have only beaten the Boys in Blue once at Yankee Stadium in 2015, while their only other away victory against them occurred in 2021 when they came from behind with two goals in the final eight minutes plus stoppage time to win 2-1 at Red Bull Arena.
Team News
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Rio Hope-Gund missed the previous encounter for NYCFC with a leg injury, Thiago Martins is doubtful after missing the previous encounter with a knock, Maxi Moralez played for the first time since rupturing his ACL last season, while Kevin O'Toole was taken off before the end of the opening half versus the Earthquakes and will be questionable to start.
Tayvon Gray was on international duty with Jamaica but trained with the team and will be available before heading to the Copa America with the Reggae Boyz, while home-grown forward Andres Jasson has signed with Aalborg BK in the Danish top flight.
In their victory over San Jose, Alonso Martinez became the sixth player in NYCFC history to score a hat-trick, with their other goals coming courtesy of Hannes Wolf and Santiago Rodriguez.
Evan Bush, Columbus' reserve keeper, is dealing with a wrist injury, Cucho Hernandez was back on the field for their CCC final after missing several MLS matches due to a sore back and Marino Hinestroza saw limited action against Pachuca due to a minor knock.
On Tuesday, the club signed Dylan Chambost from newly-promoted Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne until 2026 with an option for the 2027 campaign.
A brace by Diego Rossi in their previous league fixture propelled them to a victory over Orlando City, while Patrick Schulte collected his first MLS clean sheet since late April (0-0 draw with CF Montreal).
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Freese; Gray, Tanasijevic, Risa, Ilenic; Sands, Parks; Fernandez, Rodriguez, Wolf; Martinez
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Camacho, Cheberko; Farsi, Nagbe, Morris, Yeboah; Rossi, Matan; Hernandez
We say: New York City FC 1-1 Columbus Crew
These are two resilient groups that have overcome some rough stretches this year, and we expect to see a spirited affair between a pair of well-balanced sides who are even in many respects.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
