Round five of the 2023 Major League Soccer campaign sees Charlotte FC entertain the challenge of New York Red Bulls at the Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.
Off the back of a first win of the season for both teams last time out, they will head into this weekend's clash with the wind in their respective sails.
Match preview
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New York Red Bulls finally got their first win at the fourth time of asking courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Columbus Crew at the Red Bull Arena on Sunday.
Gerhard Struber's men went into the interval trailing to Alexandru Matan's 33rd-minute opener before second-half strikes from Luquinhas and Dante Vanzeir turned the game on its head.
Consequently, the Metro have moved up to ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, just a point adrift of Inter Miami in the battle for the final guaranteed playoff spot.
Lying in store next is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit who have been beaten in the two of the previous three encounters between the teams across all competitions.
One of 12 teams still yet to record an away triumph this term, Sunday's visitors will be eager to pick up where they left off last time out by securing three huge points on enemy territory this time around.
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Charlotte FC showed great resolve to see off the threat of Orlando City in a hard-fought 2-1 victory at the Exploria Stadium on Sunday morning.
Christian Lattanzio's men scored twice in the final minutes of the first half through Enzo Copetti and Kerwin Vargas after which Martin Ojeda pulled one back three minutes shy of the hour mark.
With three points on the board from four matches so far, the Crown sit bottom but one in the Eastern Conference, having also conceded the joint-most goals.
Having failed to win on home turf since the turn of the year, Sunday's hosts now go in search of what has become a long overdue victory in front of their fans.
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Team News
Guzman Corujo remains without an appearance since August due to a ruptured cruciate ligament, and the Charlotte FC man is still a considerable way off returning to action.
Adam Armour also misses out for the hosts with a torn knee meniscus, while Vinicius Mello and Kristijan Kahlina are sidelined with chest and back injuries respectively.
New York's duo of Serge Ngoma and Dru Yearwood are guaranteed absentees for Sunday's contest as they continue to battle with long-term muscle injuries.
Lewis Morgan missed his side's last outing due to a knock, and the 26-year-old's involvement this weekend continues to hang in the balance.
Elias Manoel was at the double for the visitors in the most recent edition of this fixture, making the Brazilian forward one to look out for here.
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Marks; Afful, Tuiloma, Malanda, Lindsey; Bronico, Jones, Westwood; Copetti, Vargas, Gaines
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Carlos; D. Nealis, Reyes, S. Nealis; Harper, Amaya, Edelman, Tolkin; Luquinhas, Casseres, Burke
We say: Charlotte FC 1-1 New York Red Bulls
Charlotte and New York Red Bulls boast similar attacking records across their opening four games, and we are backing both of them to get on the scoresheet here. That said, we can also see the sides cancelling each other out to settle for a point apiece in the end.
How to watch
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