In a matinee affair on Sunday, Nashville SC will welcome the New York Red Bulls to GEODIS Park in the opening 2024 MLS regular season fixture for each side.
Both teams were knocked out in the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs last season, with the Boys in Gold losing both of their encounters versus Orlando City, while the Red Bulls suffered successive defeats against FC Cincinnati.
Match preview
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It was another early playoff exit for Nashville in 2023, as this side have not made it into the second round since the 2021 season.
On the other hand, Gary Smith's men have never missed the playoff since entering Major League Soccer in 2020, equalling a single-season franchise record for wins last year (13).
First and foremost, Nashville are about defending and are among the best in the league in that department, finishing the previous domestic campaign in a tie with the Seattle Sounders for the fewest goals conceded (32).
As good as they were on the back end though, Nashville struggled in the attacking third, finishing tied with the San Jose Earthquakes for the fewest goals scored among MLS playoff teams last season (39), failing to net in both of their post-season affairs.
After claiming points in 10 of their opening 11 domestic fixtures in 2023, the Boys in Gold finished the campaign by winning just one of their final seven games versus MLS opponents in the regular season and playoffs.
Nashville have earned at least a point in their last three regular season openers, winning in 2022 and 2023 without conceding.
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Against all odds, the New York Red Bulls kept their playoff streak intact last year, qualifying for the post-season for a 14th successive campaign.
That streak looked to be coming to an end until the latter portion of the regular season when this team won three of their final four domestic contests to claim a Wild Card berth.
New York will begin the 2024 campaign under the guidance of Sandro Schwarz, a former assistant under Jurgen Klopp, for three seasons at Mainz 05 in Germany.
The Red Bull way of playing has always been to sacrifice possession and pressure the opposition at all times with a high press.
While New York have conceded fewer than 40 goals in three of their previous four regular season campaigns, the Red Bulls scored the fewest goals among the 18 MLS playoff teams in 2023 (36).
In four previous encounters with Nashville, the Red Bulls have never lost, conceding only one goal against them and winning their only previous visit to GEODIS Park last season (1-0).
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Team News
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During the off-season, Nashville added Tyler Boyd from the Los Angeles Galaxy and acquired Dru Yearwood in a trade with the Red Bulls while also signing Julian Gaines.
Fafa Picault left the Boys in Gold to join the Vancouver Whitecaps, while Dax McCarty signed with Nashville's southern rivals, Atlanta United.
After winning the MLS Golden Boot in 2022 with 23 goals, the production of Hany Mukhtar dropped off slightly last year, with the German netting 15 times, which was still well above his teammates, with Picault second at five.
Emil Forsberg was the big off-season signing for New York, with the former RB Leipzig midfielder expected to pull the strings as their number 10 this season.
The club also brought in a pair of youngsters who could be solid depth pieces to this squad in Dennis Gjengaar and Noah Eile.
Meanwhile they said goodbye to Luquinhas, who joined Fortaleza in the Brasileiro Serie A, Omir Fernandez became a member of the Colorado Rapids and Tom Barlow is now with the Chicago Fire.
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Moore, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Davis, Godoy; Boyd, Surridge, Shaffelberg; Mukhtar
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Duncan, S. Nealis, Reyes, Tolklin; Morgan, Edelman, Amaya, Forsberg; Vanzeir, Manoel
We say: Nashville SC 0-0 New York Red Bulls
These are two solid defensive units, so we do not expect to see a lot of chances created on either side, as they are both well-organised and rarely allow much space in behind.
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