NY Red Bulls vs. NYCFC Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 8/21/21
The New York derby will take place on Saturday night when the Red Bulls host New York City. NYCFC is currently in third place in the Eastern Conference, but Philadelphia and Orlando City have 31 points as well. The Red Bulls are five points out of the playoff picture after snapping a long losing streak in their last match.
NYCFC looking to get back on track
NYCFC is coming into this match off a rare loss. It has been an excellent campaign for them—they had not lost a match since July 17. Philadelphia was able to snap the club’s six-match unbeaten streak with a 1-0 win on Wednesday. The Union scored the lone goal 67 minutes in, recording their eighth shutout of the season. NYCFC had picked up four wins and two draws in its previous six matches. Valentin Castellanos was pulled out of the match with 13 minutes remaining, as another yellow card would have meant an absence in this contest.
Castellanos has eight goals and six assists this season. New York City is well on its way to picking up a playoff spot for the sixth year in a row. It is currently in third place in the Eastern Conference, but Philadelphia and Orlando are tied with them in the points column. NYCFC will be hoping for a similar bounce back to the last time it lost a match. It scored 10 goals in three straight wins following its loss to Columbus. A road team has not won in this rivalry since NYCFC picked up a 2-0 win at Red Bull Arena in 2017.
NY Red Bulls attempting to capture the Big Apple
New York will be hoping to build on some momentum in this rivalry match. The Red Bulls had gone winless in seven consecutive matches prior to picking up a 1-0 win over Columbus on Wednesday. John Tolkin scored his first career goal 33 minutes into the match. The 19-year-old was playing in his sixteenth MLS game. He went through the Red Bulls academy in his youth and was playing as a central midfielder in that match. Goalkeeper Carlos Miguel Coronel made four saves to keep the Crew off the scoreboard. It was his sixth shutout of the season and was capitalized by a diving stop in the 76th minute.
New York had lost two road matches in its prior to matches, both by a 2-1 score. The Red Bulls have been much better at home than on the road this season. They have five wins, two draws and two losses in seven matches at Red Bull Arena. New York needs to build on the recent win if it wants to make a playoff push. The Red Bulls are currently in tenth place in the Eastern Conference, trailing Montreal by five points. They are two points behind Columbus and Atlanta United in the standings. Midfielder Youba Diarra and Cameron Harper are both going to be out for this match.
Spread (New York Red Bulls +230)
It’s not often you get to take a home underdog at a price like this in a rivalry match. The road team has really struggled to come up with results in this series, as the last road win came in 2017. NYCFC has had the much better year, but New York is coming off a much-needed win. The Red Bulls have also been a different team at home this season and I do not believe that is being accurately priced in this line. I will gladly take New York as a lengthy home underdog on Saturday night.
Total (Under 2.5)
New York has been excellent at home and most of that has been because it has kept the matches low scoring. The Red Bulls are coming off a shutout win, while NYCFC is coming off a shutout of its own. Both goalkeepers have recorded at least six clean sheets this season, so taking the under feels like a good bet. Rivalry matches are often very intense, which limits the amount of quality scoring chances. This is an important one for both teams in the Eastern Conference standings—I’ll back the under in what should be a low-scoring affair.
