Fresh off a thumping victory on Saturday, the New York Red Bulls will seek consecutive MLS triumphs for the first time this year, when they visit Geodis Park on Wednesday to face in-form Nashville SC.
The Boys in Gold moved up to fifth in the Eastern Conference table thanks to a 2-1 win over Charlotte FC, putting them two points above the Red Bulls who destroyed the Los Angeles Galaxy 7-0.
Match preview
It has taken some time, but it appears as though Nashville have finally come around to BJ Callaghan‘s way of playing in the 2025 domestic campaign.
Since entering the league in 2020, the club from the Music City have been known for their rock-solid backline, while relying almost entirely on the individual quality of Hany Mukhtar.
This season, though we are seeing a side playing much more on the front foot with more flashy, attractive, attacking football, leading the Eastern Conference in expected goals per Fbref (22.0).
Meanwhile, according to Fotmob, they lead the league in shots per match (6.8), enabling them to collect 20 points after a dozen league matchdays, six more than they had at this stage a year ago.
Nashville are on a four-match unbeaten run across all competitions, while losing just one of their seven domestic MLS contests played this year at Geodis Park (a 2-1 loss to FC Cincinnati).
With a victory in midweek, the Boys in Gold will have already surpassed their number of home wins in this competition from 2024 (five) and also increased their MLS winning run at Geodis Park to four matches, their longest since 2023 (five games).
Six months after their heartbreaking defeat in the 2024 MLS Cup final, the Red Bulls got a massive slice of revenge against the Galaxy last weekend, adding more misery to LA’s 2025 campaign.
It had to have been a huge relief for Sandro Schwarz to see his side dominate in such a way, scoring more goals on Saturday than they had in their previous six MLS affairs (six).
Finding the back of the net at home has not been quite so easy for this team, with New York scoring a goal or fewer in their five league contests played this year and going without a goal on three of those occasions.
Wednesday is the start of a three-game road trip for them, and they are one of only two sides in the Eastern Conference this year, along with Atlanta United that have yet to claim maximum points away from home.
They have the joint second-most possessions won in the final third this season (5.5), and are unbeaten in 2025 when netting multiple times, winning four of their five league fixtures this year when doing so.
In seven prior meetings with Nashville the Red Bulls have never lost, conceding just one goal against them over that stretch, while winning one of their two games played at Geodis Park in 2023 (1-0).
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Team News
Over the weekend, Nashville were without Walker Zimmerman due to a head injury, while Taylor Washington, Tyler Boyd and Maximus Ekk were sidelined because of knee issues.
A thigh strain meanwhile kept Julian Gaines out of the lineup against Charlotte, in a match where Bryan Acosta made his club debut, taking the place of Patrick Yazbek late in the second half.
Hany Mukhtar scored the equaliser on Saturday less than a minute after Liel Abada had given Charlotte the lead, with Sam Surridge netting his team-leading sixth of the campaign which held up as the winner.
On the Red Bulls’ side, Serge Ngoma and Marcelo Morales missed their weekend fixture because of thigh strains, while Lewis Morgan and Roald Mitchell were out due to knee injuries.
A hamstring strain, meanwhile, kept Dylan Nealis out of the New York fold once again in a match that saw Carlos Coronel collect his 40th career MLS clean sheet, stopping six Galaxy efforts.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Emil Forsberg each netted braces in that convincing weekend triumph, Cameron Harper and Dennis Gjengaar also had goals, while an own-goal from Miki Yamane rounded out the scoring.
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Najar, Palacios, Maher, Lovitz; Shaffelburg, Brugman, Tagseth, Muyl; Mukhtar, Surridge
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Duncan, S. Nealis, Eile, Valencia; Carballo, Edelman; Stroud, Forsberg, Harper; Choupo-Moting
We say: Nashville SC 2-0 New York Red Bulls
The Red Bulls will be brimming with confidence following their weekend performance, but it likely won’t be as easy to overcome a Nashville side that have generated plenty of scoring opportunities and have come together as a team.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
