Nashville SC close out an insanely busy May slate with a home match against New York City FC on Saturday. The match will be Nashville's ninth game in the month, a month in which they haven't lost a match.
For the latest on the Pigeons, we checked in with Matthew Mangam, senior writer for Hudson River Blue, the best source covering NYCFC.
Ben Wright (SixOneFive Soccer): From the outside it's seemed like a fairly up-and-down season for NYCFC, playing some high-level soccer at their best and struggling to get expected results at other times. How would you describe the season so far?
Matthew Mangam (Hudson River Blue): NYCFC have had an extremely inconsistent season so far, picking up impressive wins over Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and the Red Bulls but losing to Montréal, Atlanta, and Houston.
We've seen flashes of Pascal Jansen's fluid attacking style of play, but when it isn't working, the team is not fun to watch — like Wednesday night's 3-0 defeat to Houston. The bottom line is that NYCFC need to be more consistent and pick up points against teams below them, which hasn't happened often this season.
The May part of the schedule featured many favorable games, but NYCFC failed to take advantage of their weaker opponents, leaving the fans frustrated and a lot to be desired. It's only going to get tougher in the summer, with four straight road games in July before the Leagues Cup break, so it's hard to predict how NYCFC will fare before that stretch.
BW: Alonso Martínez is turning into one of the more consistent goal-scorers in MLS. What makes him so special, and are there concerns about secondary scorers around him?
MM: Alonso Martínez is great, no question about it. But recently, he hasn't looked like himself. After starting the season with four goals in the first five games, he has two goals in his last six. The problem is Martínez hasn't been clinicial, but he's also hit the woodwork a ton. The team knows he has the pace to get in behind and get in scoring positions, but he's failed to live up to his "El Clínico" nickname dubbed by Hudson River Blue's Andrew Leigh last season.
With Martínez struggling, the lack of a secondary scorer is extremely evident. Hannes Wolf is next with four goals, but he went on a nine-game scoring drought and didn't score in April. Julián Fernández is inconsistent, and backup striker Mounsef Bakrar scored his first goal since August 2024 in last weekend's win over Chicago. So, there isn't a secondary scorer, and it's hurting NYCFC.
BW: Keaton Parks is pretty unheralded but one of the better midfielders in the league (I'm toying with having him in my All-Star ballot). How has the team functioned without him, and how important is it having him back?
MM: NYCFC are glad to have Keaton Parks back. The veteran midfielder helps out defensively while also contributing to the attack. Everyone is excited to see Parks play alongside Aiden O'Neill, who joined NYCFC from Standard de Liège late in the winter transfer window.
Without Parks, 18-year-old Jonny Shore has played a lot of minutes. Shore is definitely advanced for his age, but with the return of Parks, his minutes may be decreased. Parks coming back will bring life to NYCFC's midfield and help on both sides of the ball.
BW: What's the mood around the team right now with an incredible new stadium on the way?
MM: The new stadium is very exciting; it can't come soon enough. Recently, NYCFC has struggled at Yankee Stadium and played much better at Citi Field, so I'm sure the team is looking forward to having one place to call home instead of two.
Next season will be the last season NYCFC has to bounce back and forth between the baseball stadiums, then it's finally time for Etihad Park.
BW: What are some ways you expect NYCFC to try and hurt Nashville? And how can Nashville have success against NYCFC?
MM: It'll be interesting to see how NYCFC stack up against Nashville. Of course, you'll see guys like Maxi Moralez try to find Alonso Martínez in behind with timed runs, and if it works, that's how NYCFC could hurt Nashville. I don't have much confidence in any other players to score, so I don't expect any other players to threaten too much.
NYCFC's defense is good, but after the 3-0 loss to Houston, Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar must be excited for Saturday's game. They may target the left side of NYCFC's defense, with Birk Risa playing at left-back in place of the injured Kevin O'Toole.
Justin Haak — a natural midfielder — has played left center-back for the time being, which has been working. But he scored an own goal last night and didn't have a great game. So, Nashville will likely target that side of NYCFC's backline.
BW: Do you have a lineup and score prediction?
MM: Depending on how much Pascal Jansen rotates his side, I think the lineup will be similar to the one we saw against Houston.
With Nashville playing so well at the moment, I think they take a 2-1 home win.
Thanks so much to Matthew Mangam for chatting with us. Make sure to check out Hudson River Blue for the best coverage of NYCFC on the market.
