New York Red Bulls at New York City FC 9/25/21 - MLS Picks & Predictions

Just a few days after a 1-1 draw, New York City will now play host to the New York Red Bulls in another New York Derby. These Derbies traditionally favor the host, with New York City looking to solidify their spot at the top-3, and the Red Bulls anxiously looking for a win in order to move closer to the playoff spots.

New York City (11-8-6) took an early lead in their away match against the Red Bulls mid-week, but they were equalized by a penalty kick at the 12th minute of stoppage time for the final 1-1 draw. They have not been in very good shape lately, winning just 1 of their last 5 (1-2-2), but 4 of those matches were on the road, where New York City struggle this season. They are sitting at the 3rd spot of the Eastern Conference with 39 points, 1 ahead of Orlando and 2 ahead of Montreal. New York City have been really hard to beat at home (8-2-2), scoring 29 goals and conceding 11 in the process.

The Red Bulls (7-11-6) played a solid match mid-week, but they had a LOT of luck with that late penalty kick to avoid the loss. Prior to that they destroyed Inter Miami by 4-0 on the road, but that was their only win in their last 5 (1-2-2). The Red Bulls are sitting at the 11th spot of the Eastern Conference with 27 points, scoring 30 goals and conceding 29 in the process. They are sitting 8 points behind the last playoff spot, with 3 teams in-between. The Red Bulls have been really poor on the road so far (2-8-2), scoring 15 and conceding 19 goals. They have kept just 2 clean sheets in 12 matches on the road, conceding 2+ goals in 6 of those.