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New York City FC vs Atlanta United: MLS Preview
New York City FC return to Yankee Stadium on Thursday aiming to stay in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, as they host an Atlanta United side still searching for their first road win of the 2025 MLS season.
by Berba
The Pigeons arrive on the back of a hard-fought 2-2 draw in Nashville, a game in which they once again had to come from behind. It marked the ninth time this season that NYCFC have conceded first—a recurring trend—but they’ve shown resilience by salvaging points in several of those matches. Despite their strong home record of six wins, all three of their defeats this year have come at Yankee Stadium, with recent defensive lapses contributing to a five-goal concession over their last two outings.
Atlanta, meanwhile, failed to build on a two-game winning streak as they opened a lengthy six-match road stretch with a 2-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls. That result continued a worrying away trend: the Five Stripes have conceded multiple goals in every away fixture this season, taking just two points on the road. Strikingly, they've yet to score in the first half away from home in 2025, and just four of their 21 league goals have come as visitors.
Head-to-head, Atlanta are unbeaten in their last five league meetings with NYCFC, but regular-season victories in the Bronx have proven elusive—they’ve never won there outside of their 2018 playoff triumph. New York have historically held firm at home in this matchup, but recent form leaves room for doubt.
In terms of availability, NYCFC continue to miss Kevin O’Toole and Malachi Jones due to leg injuries, while Jacob Arroyave remains out with a knee issue. They’ll also be without Matt Freese and Alonso Martinez, who are away on international duty, and Keaton Parks is nursing a foot injury. Hannes Wolf was the hero last time out, scoring twice in the second half to complete the comeback in Nashville.
For Atlanta, goalkeeper Josh Cohen sat out the Red Bulls clash with a groin issue, while midfielder Tristan Muyumba was sidelined with muscle pain, and defender Stian Rode Gregersen missed out due to a hamstring problem. Manager Ronny Deila opted to bring in Pedro Amador for Ronald Hernandez in defence last match, signalling possible tactical tweaks heading into this difficult away fixture.