THE OTHER SIDE: What You Need to Know About New York City FC

Get to know who the Red Bulls will be playing in their upcoming match with The Other Side: 

How They’re Doing

New York City finished second in Leagues Cup group East 3 with three points, advancing to the knockout stage along with Liga MX’s Atlas.

After losing 1-0 to Atlas in their first Leagues Cup match, the Boys in Blue bounced back to put up a dominant 5-0 win over Toronto on Wednesday.

The tournament gives NYCFC a pause from its MLS regular season campaign, where the club sits at 13th in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 5-8-11.

Head-to-Head History 

Thursday will mark the 26th derby between the Red Bulls and NYCFC, with the two sides last meeting on May 13, in which New York took the win 1-0.

Red Bulls midfielder Omir Fernandez scored the game-winner in that derby, the Bronx native’s third career goal against New York City. 

In the two clubs’ contentious and storied history, the Red Bulls hold the advantage 14-8-3 overall, 11-2-2 at home.

Player to watch: Santiago Rodríguez 

NYCFC’s No. 10 and leading scorer has continued his success from the MLS regular season into the Leagues Cup tournament, scoring a brace in New York City’s latest win over Toronto.  
 
The brace contributed to Rodríguez’s six total goals across all competitions this year.  
 
After being on loan to NYCFC in 2021, Rodríguez was permanently acquired by New York City in March 2023 from Montevideo City Torque.  
 
The Montevideo, Uruguay native has delivered since being back with the Boys in Blue, and he’ll be one to watch on Thursday night.