Eastern Conference leaders Nashville SC travel to New York with the league's best defensive record, conceding just 15 times in 19 matches. The Red Bulls, by contrast, have not kept a clean sheet in their last ten outings, shipping over two goals per game at home. Hany Mukhtar…
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Sign inNew York Red Bulls welcome Supporters’ Shield leaders Nashville SC for a midweek MLS Regular Season clash on Wednesday, August 19. The visitors travel fresh from a statement victory over Inter Miami that pushed them five points clear at the summit, while the Red Bulls look to steady a campaign that has veered between encouraging wins and costly defeats.
New York Red Bulls will be without goalkeeper A.J. Marcucci, who remains sidelined with a knee injury, while defender Rafael Mosquera is listed as questionable due to a thigh issue. Michael Bradley is otherwise expected to have a near-full squad, with Julian Hall (nine MLS goals) and Jorge Ruvalcaba (seven) leading the attack. Emil Forsberg’s 30 chances created make him the side’s chief supply line.
For Nashville SC, the only confirmed absentees are Warren Madrigal and Patrick Yazbek, both nursing lower-body problems. Yazbek has been missing since April and manager B.J. Callaghan again fielded a full-strength XI against Inter Miami, with January loanee Elias Saad impressing on the left flank. Hany Mukhtar (six goals, 22 chances created) and Sam Surridge (11 goals in just 819 minutes) are set to spearhead the visitors’ attack.
Nashville arrive as the league’s form team. Saturday’s 4-1 dismantling of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami was their third straight win and left them with a 9-0-1 home record at GEODIS Park, where they have outscored opponents 29-10. Mukhtar struck twice, Surridge added a backheel finish, and goalkeeper Brian Schwake even provided a long assist for Mukhtar’s second. Callaghan’s side are also unbeaten in their last three meetings with Miami, conceding only twice.
That win kept Nashville five points clear at the top and extended a run of eight matches in 29 days—a congested spell that continues with a home date against Columbus Crew on Saturday. Despite the hectic schedule, the squad’s depth showed as substitutes Alex Muyl, Jack Maher and Shak Mohammed all helped close out the Miami victory.
The Red Bulls’ recent five-match return is a mixed bag: a draw at New York City FC, wins over Sporting Kansas City and Philadelphia Union, but also heavy losses to Charlotte FC and Orlando City. Inconsistency has been the theme, but the attacking pairing of Hall and Ruvalcaba—combining for 16 goals—gives them a cutting edge that can trouble any defence.
Bradley’s side have scored in four of those five outings, yet keeping a clean sheet has proved difficult. Against a Nashville team that has found the net 35 times in 18 league games, defensive organisation will be paramount.
Mukhtar and Surridge form the most devastating tandem in MLS. Surridge’s 11 goals from only 24 shots underline a clinical streak that few goalkeepers have been able to blunt, while Mukhtar’s ability to drift between the lines and combine with wide runners like Saad and Cristian Espinoza creates overloads across the final third. The Red Bulls’ back four, likely without Mosquera, will need to remain compact and deny the space Mukhtar craves, particularly in transition—a phase where Nashville have been ruthless.
At the other end, Hall’s movement and Ruvalcaba’s directness could test a Nashville defence that has been largely resolute but did show occasional vulnerability when pressed high. If Forsberg can dictate tempo, the Red Bulls have the tools to ask questions of a side that has conceded only 14 goals all season.
Nashville return to GEODIS Park to face Columbus Crew on Saturday as they aim to tighten their grip on the Supporters’ Shield, while the Red Bulls will look to use this test as a springboard for the final third of the regular season.
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