For the first time in the Major League Soccer regular season, Austin FC and New York City FC will face each other on Saturday at Q2 Stadium in the Texas capital.
The Verde and Black ended June with a 2-0 defeat versus Sporting Kansas City, while New York City began July with a 2-0 win over CF Montreal.
Match preview
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Another poor performance by Austin FC away from home last weekend has this team currently below the playoff line in the Western Conference.
Josh Wolff's men have lost six domestic affairs as the visitors this year, putting them in 10th, a point behind the Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference playoff battle.
Their next two MLS fixtures will take place at home, where the Verde and Black have won five times in 2024, two fewer than the previous campaign.
After going unbeaten in seven successive home matches in this competition, they are winless in two consecutive league contests at Q2 Stadium, scoring only once over that stretch.
Austin have lost their last four domestic affairs when conceding the opening goal and have been outscored 11-1 over that stretch.
Saturday will be their third meeting against an Eastern Conference opponent in the 2024 regular season, with the Verde and Black claiming just one point in those two games (2-2 draw versus the Philadelphia Union).
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New York City FC entered their recent two-game homestand on a two-match losing run but will begin a lengthy road trip on a minor high.
Nick Cushing's men have won their previous two matches in this competition, the first time they have claimed consecutive MLS victories since May.
Although the 2024 Pigeons have been somewhat streaky, they currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with 35 points, 11 more than they had after 21 league contests a year ago.
On Saturday, they embark on a four-game road trip, with New York City failing to find the back of the net five times away from home in 2024.
So far this season, the Boys in Blue have accumulated 10 points as the visiting team, which is only one fewer than the previous campaign.
NYCFC are winless in their previous five regular-season away contests versus the Western Conference and have not won a road fixture against that conference since July 2022 (1-0 over Dallas).
Team News
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This weekend, Austin will be without Diego Rubio, who picked up another yellow card in their previous encounter and will be suspended on Saturday.
Julio Cascante should be back for this game after Costa Rica were eliminated at the Copa America, but Daniel Pereira is unlikely to feature with Venezuela facing Canada in the quarter-finals of that tournament on Friday.
On Monday, the club and Moussa Djitte mutually parted ways, with the 24-year-old being loaned to Ajaccio and Bandirmaspor in the Turkish second division during his time at Austin.
The New York City victory in midweek may have come at a cost, with Maxi Moralez coming off with an injury after 22 minutes, while Birk Risa was substituted at the half and Malachi Jones sat out due to a broken tibia.
Julian Fernandez and Strahinja Tanasijevic saw the field for the first time since the Pigeons were beaten 2-0 by the Los Angeles Galaxy, each coming on as substitutes on Wednesday.
Alonso Martinez scored a goal in each half against Montreal, while Matt Freese had another solid outing between the sticks, collecting his first clean sheet since late May (1-0 win over the New England Revolution).
Austin FC possible starting lineup:
Stuver; Gallagher, Hines-Ike, Cascante, Biro; Wolff, Ring; Finlay, Driussi, Obrian; Zardes
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Freese; Gray, Martins, Tanasijevic, O'Toole; Sands, Parks; Wolf, Rodriguez, Perea; Martinez
We say: Austin FC 1-1 New York City FC
The Boys in Blue are still looking for that decisive attacking quality away from home that can make the difference between one and three points, and we expect that will hamper them on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
