Patrick Vieira has made two changes to his lineup for the second Hudson River Derby of the 2017 season.
Yangel Herrera has served his one-match suspension for the red card issued against Chicago Fire and comes straight back into the XI in place of Andrea Pirlo.
Elsewhere, Jonathan Lewis is handed his second start for the Boys in Blue, lining up on the left wing in place of Tommy McNamara who drops to the bench.
They are the only alterations to the side which lost at BMO Field to Toronto as NYCFC look to extend their seven-game unbeaten run at Yankee Stadium.
That means Frederic Brillant continues to deputize for Maxime Chanot who is still out injured as part of a back four containing Ben Sweat, Ethan White and Alexander Callens in front of Sean Johnson.
Herrera joins Alex Ring and Maxi Moralez in the midfield three, while Jack Harrison is on the opposite wing to Lewis with David Villa up front.
On the bench, Khiry Shelton is back in the squad for the first time in four months after recovering from a hamstring injury but the game comes too soon for Rodney Wallace who is nearing his return.
This will be the first time the Video Review system has been implemented in an NYCFC match as Vieira’s men seek to clinch a series victory over Red Bulls for the first time in club history.
More than 30,000 tickets have been sold for the game, making it the first sell-out of the season.
READ: Everything You Need to Know About Video Review
NYCFC XI: Johnson, White, Callens, Brillant, Sweat, Ring, Herrera, Moralez, Harrison, Lewis, Villa (C)
NYCFC Subs: Johansen, Awuah, Lopez, Pirlo, Shelton, Okoli
Key Stats
- NYCFC has won two of the last three games against the Red Bulls (1L), including beating their rivals at Red Bull Arena for the first time earlier this season (2-0 on June 24, 2017). The Red Bulls has won the first four meetings against NYCFC.
- Since Patrick Vieira took over, NYCFC average 2.1 goals per home game. Only two other teams that have played in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons average at least 2.0 goals per game at home.
- The Red Bulls have won their last three games on the road after dropping their previous six away games. The club has not won four-straight road games in regular season play since Aug. 15, 2001- April 12, 2002.
- NYCFC’s 4-0 loss to Toronto last weekend was the fifth time in franchise history that they have conceded four-or-more goals in a regular season game. Four of the five instances have come in games against Toronto or the Red Bulls (two games against each team).
- NYCFC have scored 24 second half goals this year, the most in the league. The Red Bulls are tied for second-most second half goals with 22.
- The Red Bulls have conceded 38% of their goals from set pieces this year, the highest percentage of any team in the league.
- Daniel Royer led the league with six goals in July. No other MLS player scored more than four goals in the month.
- NYCFC’s David Villa (55) and New York’s Bradley Wright-Phillips (52) are two of three MLS players with 50+ regular season goals since the start of the 2015 season.
- In the 11 games that Sean Davis has started for the Red Bulls this season, they average 2.0 goals for and 1.9 points per game. In the 10 games he has not, those numbers fall down to 1.0 goals for and 1.4 points per game.
- Andrea Pirlo completed 31 passes in the Toronto half last weekend, just the third time he completed more than 30 passes in the opposition half in a game this year.
