Match Preview: Nashville SC vs New York Red Bulls

(Image courtesy of Nashville SC)

Good morning to all across the southeast, it’s matchday once again!

After a scoreless draw to open the season on February 22nd, Nashville SC takes to the skies for the first time on Saturday as they head to Harrison, NJ and the newly renamed Sports Illustrated Stadium to take on the New York Red Bulls.

Let’s dive into the game.

The History

These clubs have shared the field with one another six times, with the Red Bulls winning two and the other four contests all ending in a draw. In fact, three of the last four meetings between these clubs ended in scoreless draws, including two games at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

The last time a goal was scored in this fixture, it was in the Music City. That goal saw John Tolkin sink a 94th minute penalty on Decision Day in 2023, a goal that sent the Red Bulls into the playoffs.

The only time the Red Bulls have beaten Nashville at home was the very first meeting between these two clubs, a 2-0 win in 2021 courtesy of goals by Fabio and Kyle Duncan.

As poor a historical record as Nashville has against the Red Bulls, they have just as bad a record in Sports Illustrated Stadium. The Boys in Gold have won just one game in their history in Harrison, a 1-0 win over CF Montréal in 2020 amid the COVID pandemic.

Nashville has also played New York City FC twice at Sports Illustrated Stadium, losing to the Pigeons 3-1 last season, and also playing them to a scoreless draw in 2021.

However, it’s worth noting that both of the matchups in this fixture last season came before the dismissal of former head coach Gary Smith. This is BJ Callaghan’s first test against the 2024 Eastern Conference Champions.

These clubs of course have also shared a number of players between them, with current players Alex Muyl (Nashville) and Dylan Nealis (New York) joining dual-alumni Dax McCarty, Sean Davis, and Dru Yearwood in having played for both clubs.

Injury Report

Nashville SC

OUT: Bryan Acosta, Julian Gaines, Maximus Ekk, Tyler Boyd

QUESTIONABLE: Gastón Brugman, Jacob Shaffelburg

New York Red Bulls

OUT: Wiktor Bogacz, Ronald Donkor, Kyle Duncan, Adri Mehmeti, Roald Mitchell, Marcelo Morales, Serge Ngoma

QUESTIONABLE: None

Predicted Lineup

Analysis

As mentioned, Nashville historically does not play well against the Red Bulls. However, also as mentioned, this is BJ Callaghan’s first time facing them as Nashville manager.

This week has also been kind to the health of the Nashville squad, with Patrick Yazbek being healthy enough to not receive any injury designation, and Gastón Brugman being fit enough to return to training with the full team earlier this week as well.

Getting just one of the two back significantly decreases the required load on Matthew Corcoran and/or Wyatt Meyer in midfield, but obviously getting both back would be ideal.

As far as the lineup, Patrick Yazbek for Meyer would be the only change here. Jacob Shaffelburg still being less than healthy, Ahmed Qasem having just arrived late last week, and Tyler Boyd being out until the summer limits Nashville’s options on the wing.

That’s where the versatility of an Eddi Tagseth and Alex Muyl becomes valuable. You can survive if/when your winger group is thin, because you can trust Tagseth and Muyl in those positions. Equally important is the trust you have in Yazbek, Corcoran and Meyer to fill the gaps created by that shift in midfield also.

The Red Bulls look different as well this season, having added 35 year-old German striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting up top. In his MLS debut last weekend, a 1-0 loss against FC Cincinnati, Choupo-Moting managed two shots on target.

Grouping him in a front line with Emil Forsberg and Lewis Morgan is always dangerous for any opponent, regardless the injury problems the Red Bulls have in other areas of the pitch.

So, yes, it has been since November 7th, 2021 that an open play goal has been scored in this fixture. But this Nashville team and these Red Bulls are unlike the ones that played out the previous games.

All that being said, I’m personally still leaning towards the Red Bulls pulling off a home win here. Whether it’s history or some kind of witchcraft affecting Nashville in that building it doesn’t matter. Road games in MLS are very hard to win. Especially against such a physically active team like the Red Bulls, with a less than fully healthy midfield.