Pascal Jansen is not worried about the recent goal of New York City for Saturday's Hudson River Derby against the New York Red Bulls.
Indeed, he believes it is only a matter of time before they convert their chances into goals, after they have not scored in their last three trips in all competitions against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (0-1), CF Montreal (0-1) and DC United (0-0).
NYCFC has scored only 13 times of a total of 18.79 expected goals (XG) in MLS this campaign.
Only Austin FC (16.94 XG, nine goals) and Montreal (13.18 XG, seven goals) have left their underlying attacking statistics with a larger margin.
“I'm not worried at all,” Jansen said. “If you look at our games, all 13 have been very close, very tight.
“In quite a few games we had opportunities to get the advantage. I will worry if we do not come to these areas and spaces. We know that we should be more clinical and that is what we will concentrate on.
“It doesn't worry me at all because I know that the boys can create these opportunities, and it's a matter of time before they start turning them into goals.”
While NYCFC is ninth in the Eastern Conference with 18 points, the Red Bulls above them are on target difference in the eighth, both currently occupy the play-in places.
They lost 2-1 at Nashville SC last time-out, which led to criticism from head coach Sandro Schwarz, who said: “What we need is 100% intensity in our basic behavior.
“We have to analyze immediately – we don't have that much time for Saturday. The biggest difference is that we need these clear instructions to the goal.”
Players to watch
New York City – Alonso Martinez
New York City did not score in their last three games in all games.
They need leading goal scorer Martinez, who has scored six times this season, but bids his XG at 8.65 to perform.
New York Red Bulls-Eric Maxim Choupo Moting
Although the Red Bulls were beaten 2-1 in the previous time-out in Nashville, Choupo-Moting scored his seventh League goal of the season.
Only Tai Bararibo (10 goals), Cristian Arango (nine), Martin Ojeda, Hugo Cuypers and Brian White (eight) have surpassed the former man of Bayern Munich in MLS this year.
Match forecast – Win New York City
NYCFC has only lost one of the last four meetings of these rivals in MLS that goes back to May 2023 (two wins, one draw).
However, that one defeat came in the semi-finals of the Eastern Conference last November, with Felipe Carballo and Dante Vanzeir scoring within the first 25 minutes of a 2-0 Red Bulls victory.
Although NYCFC went to Montreal on a home floor last week, they had defeated the Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati – the top two teams in the east – in their previous two league games at Citi Field.
In the meantime, the Red Bulls have only taken two points of six road races in 2025 (two draws, four defeats)-the joint-flex of each team in the east.
Opta wins probability
New York City – 42.3%
New York Red Bulls – 31%
Drawing – 26.7%