Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Major League Soccer match between Austin FC and New York City FC, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
For the first time in Major League Soccer regular season, Austin FC AND New York City FC will face off on Saturday at Q2 Stadium in the Texas capital.
The Verde and Zi ended June with a 2-0 loss against Sporting Kansas City, while New York City began July with a 2-0 win over CF Montreal.
Match preview
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Another poor showing by Austin FC away from home last weekend has this team currently below the playoff line in the Western Conference.
Josh Wolff‘s men have lost six domestic away games this year, putting them in 10th place, one point behind Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference playoff battle.
Their next two MLS games will be at home, where the Verde and Black have won five times in 2024, two fewer than the previous campaign.
After going unbeaten in seven consecutive home games in this competition, they are winless in two successive league outings at the Q2 Stadium, scoring just once in that stretch.
Austin has lost its last four innings when conceding the opening goal and has been outscored 11-1 during that span.
Saturday will be their third meeting against an Eastern Conference opponent in the 2024 regular season, with the Green and Black claiming just one point in those two games (a 2-2 draw against the Philadelphia Union).
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New York City FC entered their final two-game homestand on a two-game losing streak, but will begin a long road trip on a low note.
Nick CushingTheir men have won their previous two games in the competition, the first time they have won back-to-back in MLS since May.
Although the 2024 Doves have been somewhat of a flop, they are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 35 points, 11 more than they had after 21 league games a year ago.
On Saturday, they begin a four-game road trip with New York City having failed to find the back of the net five times away from home in 2024.
So far this season, the Boys in Blue have collected 10 away points, which is just one less than last season.
NYCFC is winless in their previous five regular season games against the Western Conference and has not won a road game against that conference since July 2022 (1-0 vs. Dallas).
Austin FC Major League Soccer Form:
New York FC Major League Soccer Form:
Team news
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This weekend, Austin will be without Diego Rubiowho picked up another yellow card in their previous encounter and will be suspended on Saturday.
Julio Cascante should return for this game as Costa Rica was eliminated in the Copa America, but Daniel Pereira He is unlikely to feature as Venezuela face Canada in the quarter-finals of that tournament on Friday.
On Monday, the club and Moussa Djitte They parted ways, with the 24-year-old loaned out to Ajaccio and Bandirmaspor in the Turkish second division during his time in Austin.
New York City’s midweek victory may have come at a cost, with Maxi Moralez coming off with an injury after 22 minutes, while Birk Risa was replaced in half and Malachi Jones sat down due to a broken tibia.
Julian Fernandez AND Strahinja Tanasijevic saw the pitch for the first time since the Doves were beaten 2-0 by the Los Angeles Galaxy, with each coming on as a substitute on Wednesday.
Alonso Martinez scored a goal in each half against Montreal, while Matt Freese had another strong outing between the sticks, recording his first clean sheet since late May (1-0 win over New England Revolution).
Austin FC Probable Starting Lineup:
Stever; Gallagher, Hines-Ike, Cascante, Biro; Wolff, The Ring; Finlay, Driussi, O’Brien; Zardes
New York City FC Probable Starting Lineup:
Cheap; Gray, Martins, Tanasijevic, O’Toole; Sand, Parks; Wolf, Rodriguez, Perea; Martinez
We say: Austin FC 1-1 New York City FC
The Men in Blue are still looking for that decisive attacking quality away from home that can make the difference between one and three points, and we expect that to hold them back on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, results and more for this match please click here.
