The New York Red Bulls open up a two-match homestand against Western Conference opponents as they host the San Jose Earthquakes at Red Bull Arena.
New York is currently unbeaten in their last four matches at home and defeated Columbus 2-1 in their last match in Harrison with Dante Vanzeir scoring his first MLS goal to win it.
A year after finishing bottom of the West, San Jose currently sits fifth after six matches and make the cross-country trip off the back of a 2-1 victory over Houston thanks to a pair of penalty kicks by star man Cristian Espinoza.
Team news
Gerhard Struber will be without several players as Serge Ngoma, John Tolkin and Matt Nocita are all suffering from hamstring injuries, Lewis Morgan has a hip issue and Steven Sserwadda will miss out with a knee injury.
Nathan is out for the season after having ACL surgery while Niko Tsakiris (adductor) and Daniel (thigh) are also set to miss out.
Carlos Gruezo is questionable as the Ecuadorian midfielder is battling a hamstring issue.
Predicted lineups
New York Red Bulls: Coronel; Tolkin, S. Nealis, Reyes, Duncan; Amaya, Edelman; Luquinhas, Casseres Jr., Harper; Manoel
San Jose Earthquakes: Marcinkowski; Marie, Rodrigues, Mensah, Akapo; Monteiro, Baldisimo, Yueill, Espinoza; Ebobisse, Cowell
Ones to watch
Andres Reyes (New York Red Bulls)
He's quietly been the Red Bulls best defender in 2023, leading the league with 16 interceptions and he made his 50th MLS appearance last week in Atlanta, 37 of those with New York.
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Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes)
The midfielder pulls the strings for the San Jose attack and will need to be contained if New York is to come out on top.
The Argentinian leads MLS with 19 key passes and has a team-high three goals to go along with two assists.
Despite finishing last in the Western Conference, Espinoza was fourth in the league with 14 assists. Since joining the club in 2019, he has 46 assists in 129 appearances.
Previous meetings
The two sides met on the opening day of last season with New York coming out on top 3-1 to start their historic road winning streak.
Patryk Klimala tapped home a Lewis Morgan cutback to put the Red Bulls in front heading into halftime, but the Earthquakes equalized through Javier Lopez on 69 minutes.
Three minutes later, a fine solo effort by Omir Fernandez put New York in front to stay and Tom Barlow added a third in stoppage time to put the game out of reach.
How to watch
The match will be streamed live on Apple TV + with kickoff set for 7:30pm Eastern time.