New York City FC vs. New York Red Bulls | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

New York City FC vs. New York Red Bulls
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 19
Yankee Stadium — Bronx
July 8 - 7 pm ET
WATCH: FS1, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

Dome Torrent will get his first taste of the New York Derby, and the new New York City FC coach is hoping for a better outcome than Patrick Vieira had in two meetings against the New York Red Bulls, when the two teams square off at Yankee Stadium for the first time in 2018.

There's a new face on the Red Bulls' sideline, too, as Chris Armas was appointed head coach on Friday following the departure of Jesse Marsch. Armas will look to continue Marsch's track record of dominance against NYCFC. The Red Bulls bested NYCFC, 4-0, in MLS play on May 5 and won by the same scoreline in the Fourth Round of the U.S. Open Cup a month later with both matches at Red Bull Arena.

New York City FC

A new coach, same road struggles for NYCFC (9-4-4), which are 0-4-2 in their last six away from Yankee Stadium following a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Fire Saturday in Bridgeview.

After Nemanja Nikolic opened the scoring in the sixth minute, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and Jo Inge Berget struck for a pair of goals in a four-minute span late in the first half, but Aleksandar Katai scored twice in five minutes early in the second half to lift the Fire.

“I think we created many chances to score but we were not able to today,” Torrent said. “We made a big mistake; especially in the second half, in the first seven minutes. It's not normal because this team normally plays compact. They have a philosophy to play football but sometimes that happens.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Alex Ring
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: M - Yangel Herrera (ankle surgery), D - Cedric Hountondji (hamstring injury); QUESTIONABLE: D - Ronald Matarrita (hamstring injury), F - David Villa (right knee injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Sean Johnson — Anton Tinnerholm, Sebastian Ibeagha, Alex Callens, Ben Sweat — Alex Ring, Ebenezer Ofori, Maxi Moralez — Jesus Medina, Jo Inge Berget, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi

New York Red Bulls

It wasn’t pretty, but the Red Bulls (10-4-2) defeated Toronto FC, 1-0, on Sunday for their third consecutive win that moved them into second place — above NYCFC — in the Eastern Conference standings.

Kemar Lawrence scored for the second straight game, aided by an Alex Bono blunder, and Luis Robles made sure the early tally held up with eight saves, including denying Sebastian Giovinco from the penalty spot in the second half.

“Even though we weren’t playing our best there was still belief that we were going to get the result,” Marsch said. “A little bit of luck in there too for sure, but there’s confidence in this group about stepping onto the field and finding a way to get results even on the road. It’s different than most teams I’ve been around and our key is to continue that strong mentality and continue to have a hunger to improve and find ways to get better every week.”

Given that Armas was Marsch's right-hand man in New York, don't expect major changes for this match, but the debutant head coach may offer new opportunities for players, either in this game or in the weeks to come.

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: D - Tim Parker
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Kyle Duncan (torn right ACL), M - Vincent Bezecourt (MCL sprain); DOUBTFUL: GK - Ryan Meara (knee injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Luis Robles — Michael Murillo, Aaron Long, Tim Parker, Kemar Lawrence — Tyler Adams, Sean Davis — Florian Valot, Kaku, Danny Royer — Bradley Wright-Phillips

All-Time Series

Overall: New York City FC 3 wins, 11 goals … New York Red Bulls 5 wins, 21 goals … 1 draw
At New York City: NYCFC 2 wins, 6 goals … Red Bulls 2 wins, 12 goals … 0 draws
Last meeting at New York City: New York City FC 3, New York Red Bulls 2 (Aug. 6, 2017)