Major League Soccer

Mar 2, 2025 at 12.30am UK

Red Bull Arena

NY Red Bulls vs Nashville

Match preview

Chances were few and far between for the Red Bulls in their season opener last Saturday, as they failed to score against an MLS side for the second match in a row.

The defeat extended their regular season losing streak to three matches, all of which ended in a single goal defeat.

Coach Sandro Schwarz saw his side go winless in their last five regular-season games at Red Bull Arena last year, although the club have not lost their home opener in this competition since 2022 (1-0 to Minnesota United).

On Saturday, the Red Bulls will be looking to avoid losing their opening two games of an MLS campaign for the first time since 2021.

Dating back to the 2024 domestic season, the Red Bulls have lost their last six regular-season meetings when conceding the opening goal.

New York have never lost to Nashville SC in this competition, although their only win at Harrison came in 2021 (2-0).

Since joining the league in 2020, we have come to expect Nashville SC to play defensively, with the emphasis on destabilising the opposition's attack.

That is exactly what we saw from BJ Callaghan's men on the opening day, as they held the Revs to just two shots on target and have yet to concede a goal this year.

At the same time, they have won just one of their six previous meetings in this competition, beating Chicago Fire 3-0 on the final day last season.

A year ago, they won four away games in the regular season for the fourth time in their five MLS campaigns, with their best road record coming in 2022 (seven wins).

At the same time, Nashville have picked up points in their last four away regular-season openers, drawing 1-1 at Colorado Rapids in 2024.

The Boys in Gold have been held scoreless in five of their six all-time meetings with the Red Bulls, scoring just once, although they have managed to hold them to a 0-0 draw in two of their three visits to Red Bull Arena.

Recent Performance

New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer form:L

Nashville SC Major League Soccer form:D

Team News

The Red Bulls were without Ronald Donkor, who suffered a sore shin, while Serge Ngoma, Marcelo Morales, Kyle Duncan and Roald Mitchell were all sidelined with knee injuries.

A thigh problem kept Adri Mehmeti on the sidelines last weekend, while Wiktor Bogacz was unavailable as he recovers from a back problem.

For Nashville, Patrick Yazbek, Jacob Shaffelburg, Julian Gaines, Gaston Brugman and Bryan Acosta all missed the opening game with hamstring problems.

Meanwhile, Maximus Ekk and Tyler Boyd were both ruled out with knee problems, leaving their status for this game up in the air.

Possible starting lineup

New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:

Coronel; Eile, S. Nealis, Hack; Harper, Carmona, Edelman, Valencia; Morgan, Forsberg; Choupo-Moting

Nashville SC possible starting lineup:

Willis; Najar, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Perez, Corcoran, Tagseth, Muyl; Mukhtar, Surridge