The New York Red Bulls travel to Lower.com Field to face the red-hot Columbus Crew.
New York picked up their first win since May 31st as they dominated Atlanta 4-0 on goals from Daniel Edelman, the departing Cristian Casseres Jr. and a pair from Frankie Amaya.
The result lifted the Red Bulls up to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, just three points out of the final playoff spot.
Columbus is unbeaten in their last five games, the latest victory in that stretch a 2-0 win over then-second place Nashville, Christian Ramirez and Jack Maher scoring either side of halftime.
The Crew have scored 12 goals in that span which has seen them rise to fifth in the East and a win combined with a Philadelphia loss tomorrow could see them go fourth.
Team news
Will Sands is the only absentee for the Crew as the defender is suffering from a knee injury.
Serge Ngoma (hamstring), Lewis Morgan (hip) and Steven Sserwadda (knee) are all out with their respective injuries while Cory Burke and John Tolkin are with Jamaica and the U.S. Men's National Team for the Gold Cup.
Dylan Nealis (hip) and Dante Vanzeir (hamstring) are listed as questionable.
Cristian Casseres Jr. is about to leave the club, signing with Ligue 1 side Toulouse in France.
Predicted lineups
Columbus Crew: Schulte; Amundsen, Degenek, Moreira; Farsi, Yeboah, Matan, Nagbe, Farsi; Hernandez, Zelarayan; Ramirez
New York Red Bulls: Carlos; Harper, Reyes, Nealis, Duncan; Edelman, Casseres Jr; Yearwood, Luquinhas; Barlow, Manoel
Ones to watch
Lucas Zelarayan (Columbus Crew)
Columbus are the highest-scoring team in MLS with 38 goals and Zelarayan is a big reason why as the Argentinian-born Armenian has eight goals and six assists in 16 appearances in 2023, making him one of the most lethal offensive weapons in the league.
Cameron Harper (New York Red Bulls)
He's been hugely impressive the last two games, scoring the equalizer against Charlotte that earned New York a point and turning in a sensational performance in the win over Atlanta for a Red Bulls side that has conceded just 18 goals this season.
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Previous meetings
In March, New York rallied to claim a 2-1 victory, the fourth time in the last five matches between the two sides that the game has ended with that scoreline.
Alexandru Matan put Columbus in front less than two minutes after Eloy Room saved Casseres Jr.'s shot through traffic, taking advantage of a blunder by Carlos Coronel.
Steven Moreira sent a long looping ball to Matan down the right flank that both Coronel and defender Andres Reyes tried to track down, leaving Matan open, who cut to his left and fired home from 22 yards out.
The Red Bulls tied the game in the 58th minute, Luquinhas scoring on the rebound of a shot by Burke that was initially saved by Room.
They found a winner two minutes from time, Tolkin's cross finding Vanzeir at the right post and the Belgian winger was able to convert to give New York their first lead and eventual win of the season.
How to watch
The match will be streamed nationally on Apple TV + with Chris Wittyngham serving as the play-by-play announcer and Lori Lindsay handling analyst duties.
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm Eastern time.