On Saturday, New York City FC can hand Nashville SC just their second home defeat of the 2025 MLS regular season when the two sides meet at Geodis Park in the Music City.
Earlier this week, the Boys in Gold moved up to third in the Eastern Conference with a 2-2 draw against the Columbus Crew, while New York are eighth following a 3-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo.
Match preview
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Another hard-fought back-and-forth match on Wednesday saw Nashville extend their unbeaten run to nine games across all competitions.
At the same time, they had two leads in their previous match and could not hold on, with only 33% of the possession against the Crew, conceding the equaliser nine minutes from the end.
The Boys in Gold have now dropped seven points in this competition when drawing first blood, the difference between third and first in the conference at the moment.
BJ Callaghan's men have points in their last five league fixtures at Geodis Park, conceding a goal or fewer in four of those instances.
Dating back to the 2024 campaign, this side have points in 10 successive MLS affairs when netting multiple goals, winning nine of those contests.
Nashville boast a 100% home record versus New York City in this competition and have not conceded a single goal against them in two prior meetings at Geodis Park.
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We have said before that New York City can be a streaky team, and we saw that yet again on Wednesday as their three-match unbeaten run came to an end.
On Wednesday Pascal Jansen saw his side concede as many goals as they had in their previous seven competitive fixtures combined.
Away from home, the Pigeons have just one win this season but have points in their previous two league games as the visitors.
They have yet to lose this year against a side currently above them in the Eastern Conference table, collecting 14 out of a possible 18 points from those six matches.
While they have never beaten the Boys in Gold in Nashville, NYCFC have won two of their previous three meetings against them, including a 3-1 home triumph last year.
A defeat this weekend would equal their longest losing streak of the 2025 regular season, since losing their final match in March and the first one in April.
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Team News
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A sore hip kept Gaston Brugman out of the Nashville lineup on Wednesday, knee injuries meant that Taylor Washington, Maximus Ekk and Tyler Boyd were unavailable and Julian Gaines was sidelined with a thigh strain.
Last week, they signed Tate Schmitt for the remainder of the season with an option for 2026 and the ex-Houston Dynamo defender will seek his first appearance for his new side this weekend.
Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar found the back of the net against the Crew in mid-week, while Joe Willis surpassed 25,000 career minutes played in MLS.
On the NYCFC side, leg injuries meant that Malachi Jones, Andres Perea, Kevin O'Toole and Jacob Arroyave were unavailable against the Dynamo.
The club signed homegrown forward Seymour Reid on Tuesday to a contract through 2029 with an option for 2030, and he was an unused substitute in midweek.
Jansen had the same starting 11 this week that he employed in their victory over the Chicago Fire (3-1), with Maximo Carrizo being the only new player to appear on Wednesday, coming on for Maxi Moralez in the second half.
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Najar, Palacios, Zimmerman, Lovitz; Tagseth, Yazbek; Muyl, Mukhtar, Perez; Surridge
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Freese; Gray, Martins, Haak, Risa; Parks, O'Neill; Fernandez, Moralez, Wolf; Martinez
We say: Nashville SC 2-0 New York City FC
Conceding three times to an average offensive unit in Houston is hardly a confidence boost, and we expect the Pigeons to struggle against a Nashville side much stronger defensively at home, having conceded a goal or fewer in seven of their last eight home games.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
