New York City FC will try to keep their place among the top tier of the Eastern Conference when they pay Nashville SC a visit on Saturday.

New York City FC (9-7-2, 29 points) are in fourth place in the East and remain on the road after a 2-0 loss to the Galaxy in Los Angeles on Wednesday. NYCFC have dropped two straight after a season-best five-match winning streak and were held without a goal for the first time since a 2-0 defeat to Colorado on May 5.

“I like soccer because we have the opportunity to change everything in three days,” New York City defender Thiago Martins said. “We need to stick together. It’s important to work toward the goal and be properly prepared for playing in Nashville. I think we will be ready.”

Santiago Rodriguez leads New York City with seven goals while Alonso Martinez has found the net six times; those two players have as many goals as the rest of the team combined.

Nashville (5-5-8, 23 points) heads home for the first of a two-match homestand on the heels of a 2-1 win in Toronto on Wednesday. Sam Surridge scored both goals for the visitors, including the winner in the 90th minute that helped Nashville snap a two-match winless streak.

Surridge’s first goal came in the 65th minute and was produced on Nashville’s first shot on goal of the night. He now has seven tallies to lead the team.

Nashville’s surge after halftime came after coach Rumba Munthali railed on his team for its failure to execute the game plan in the first half.

“I don’t know if I could share (what was said),” Munthali said. “There was a lot of energy and different words. It was an energetic talk that, you know, the guys I think took well. We came out in the second half and had a good performance.”

Nashville is now 3-1-3 in its past seven matches and has moved into eighth place in the East. Nine teams from each conference will make the playoffs.

Nashville owns a 2-1 edge in the all-time series with NYCFC, with one draw. The teams split their two games in 2023, with each winning at home.

–Field Level Media