The third New York City derby game of the season is upon us now as the MLS heads to the Yankee Stadium for New York City FC taking on New York Red Bulls.
Both teams have been relatively poor so far in the 2023 campaign and sit in 12th and 13th place respectively, but local bragging rights will be on the line as the teams go head-to-head to try and close the gap on DC United in the final play-off spot.
We'll take a look at the fixture and provide you with our best free soccer picks for the MLS to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you enjoy the action.
Learn more about how to bet on the Major League Soccer here.
New York City vs New York Red Bulls information
- Saturday, September 16th 2023
- Yankee Stadium, New York
- 15:30 ET kick-off
- Eastern Conference
New York City season so far
New York City are trying to recover from a poor run that has seen them lose the first two games after the end of the Leagues Cup.
After both defeats to Minnesota United and FC Cincinnati, they finally got back to winning, by beating CF Montreal 2-0. But their poor form continued with a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps meaning they have just one win in their last seven MLS games.
They've come up against the Red Bulls twice already this season, and failed to win either time - suffering 1-0 defeats in the league fixture back in May and also in the Leagues Cup fixture last month, with both of those games following a similar pattern.
At home, New York City have lost 1 of their last 5 MLS matches. They drew 3 and won 1 game during that time. New York City are 12th in the Eastern Conference and 24th in the MLS ranking. They have 30 points from 28 matches with a season record of six wins, 12 draws and ten losses with 28 goals scored and 36 goals conceded.
New York Red Bulls season so far
New York Red Bulls are hoping to put an end to a disastrous run in the league. The team have lost three games in a row, with their last win coming against DC United and since then, they lost against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami, New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union.
In their last game against Philadelphia Union, the Red Bulls were thumped 4-1 as Omir Fernandez scored in just 11 minutes into the first half and then Jakob Glesnes equalized in the 29th minute. New York Red Bulls player Sean Nealis was shown a red card in the 44th minute and the team had to continue the game with 10 men. withPhiladelphia Union capitalized in the second half, as they got three more goals in the second half through Damion Lowe, Julian Carranza and Daniel Gazdag.
New York Red Bulls are ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference and 26th in the MLS, with 29 points from 27 matches played. They have a season record of seven wins, 12 defeats and eight draws with 24 goals scored and 33 goals conceded.
Soccer picks: Under 2.5 goals
Neither of these two teams are particularly prolific in front of goal and this season their lack of goals have been their biggest problems.
When you look at the goal averages in both of their seasons so far, it's clear why the bet to go with is the under rather than the over.
In 28 New York City FC games this season there have been 64 goals, which is an average of 2.28 per game, while in 27 New York Red Bulls games this season there have been 57 goals for an average of 2.1 per game. Everything points towards a tight game with few goals flowing between the sides.
Also in their previous two meetings this season we have seen the New York Red Bulls come out on top both times, with 1-0 wins on both occasions thanks to goals from Omir Fernandez back in May and then again in August.
The likelihood is that we see something similar at Yankees Stadium, meaning not much entertainment and much more focus on not losing rather than winning for both sides.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
Soccer picks: Both teams to score - No
As mentioned already the two teams have faced each other twice already this season with only the Red Bulls finding the back of the net in those games.
Scoring is the big problem for both sides, and games involving these teams are usually tight affairs. In fact, it's rare that both teams find the net in any fixtures that include these teams.
Of the last 11 New York City games, both teams have managed to find the back of the net in only four of them and just once in the last seven games. As for the Red Bulls, there has been a clean sheet for at least one team in six of the last 12 games they have played.
All things point towards a tight game with the odd goal being the difference once again, so backing this has great value.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
