The New York Red Bulls will aim to get a higher seeding in the MLS Cup playoffs as they host the Columbus Crew in the regular season finale for both teams at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.
Heading into Decision Day, the Red Bulls sit seventh in the Eastern Conference following a 2-1 defeat versus Atlanta United, while the Crew are locked into second, winning convincingly 4-0 against the New England Revolution last weekend.
Match preview
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It will be another year of playoff soccer in New Jersey, but the Red Bulls have stumbled over the line this time, winning just one of their last 10 matches across all competitions.
Down the stretch of the season, Sandro Schwarz has seen his side concede in 11 straight league contests, including 10 times in their last four games.
A victory this weekend would give them 50 points for the 2024 campaign, the second time they reach that mark in the last three seasons.
While they are assured of a place in the opening round of the playoffs, there is still a chance for a more favourable post-season matchup, as they are currently a point behind Charlotte FC for sixth.
The Red Bulls are winless in their last five regular season home fixtures, having been outscored by a combined margin of 8-4 over that stretch.
New York are unbeaten in their previous three matches against Columbus at Red Bull Arena, coming from behind to earn a 2-1 triumph in this exact fixture last year.
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Coming into 2024 as the defending MLS Cup champions, the Crew had a target on their back, but to their credit, they have maintained an elite level of play throughout the campaign.
This will be the first time that Columbus have made consecutive playoff appearances since the 2017 and 2018 MLS seasons.
They are firing on all cylinders right now, netting multiple goals in six successive league fixtures, including a combined seven in their last two league games.
Wilfried Nancy's men have points in six of their previous seven domestic affairs while setting a new regular-season club record for wins (18) thanks to their victory over the Revs.
They have been well-structured defensively for a ball-dominant and aggressive side, conceding the second-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference (38).
Their 63 points are already a single-season club record, while they have picked up twice as many wins away from home in this campaign (eight) compared to the previous one (four).
Team News
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Do not expect to see Kyle Duncan feature for the Red Bulls on Saturday as he is recovering from knee surgery, Wikelman Carmona is doubtful with a sore thigh and Roald Mitchell may miss another encounter because of a knee injury.
Dylan Nealis will not be available for this encounter after being given a straight red card in their defeat versus the Five Stripes.
Serge Ngoma had a consolation goal for them in their previous match, but it came in the 14th minute of second-half stoppage time, which proved to be too little too late.
With nothing to play for, it is unlikely the Crew will feature Steven Moreira, who missed their previous match with a sore ankle, Sean Zawadzki is doubtful with a rib injury and Evan Bush is back training but remains a doubt due to an arm issue.
Patrick Schulte and Nicholas Hagen will both be back from international duty, as will Mohamed Farsi, Taha Habroune and Cucho Hernandez, though we would be surprised to see Schulte or Hernandez start in a match where the Crew have nothing to gain or lose.
DeJuan Jones netted the winner in their victory over New England, with Alexandru Matan scoring a hat trick and Abraham Romero collecting a clean sheet.
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Reyes, S. Nealis, Eile; Stroud, Donkor, Edelman, Forsberg, Tolkin; Vanzeir, Morgan
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Hagen; Cheberko, Camacho, Amundsen; DeJuan Jones, Chambost, Nagbe, Yeboah; Matan, Ramirez; Rossi
We say: New York Red Bulls 1-3 Columbus Crew
Even though this is essentially a nothing game for the Crew, Nancy always seems to push the right buttons to keep this team sharp, and we expect a strong performance from the side he puts out, which should be enough to defeat the inconsistent Red Bulls.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
