It's Matchday 19, and New York City FC are in Music City to face Nashville SC at Geodis Park in the sweltering heat of a Tennessee night. The mercury will say it's 83F/28C, but it'll feel closer to 90F/32C as this hot, still air blankets much of the country.
This game just might become a family affair: Malachi Jones, an MLS SuperDraft first-round pick who is seeing regular minutes on the left wing of New York City's attack, could face off against his younger brother Isaiah Jones, a 17-year-old who was training with the First Team this week.
• Matchday 19: Nashville SC vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Saturday, June 22, 8:30 pm ET
• Venue: Geodis Park
• Forecast: Hot, still, sticky, 83F/28C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Tony Husband and Ross Smith (English), Diego Pessolano and Daniel Chapela (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Victor Rivas (referee), Andrew Bigelow and Jeffrey Swartzel (assistant referees), Alejo Colume (fourth official), Jorge Gonzalez (VAR), Katherine McCormick (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the black 24/7 Kit; Nashville will wear its yellow-and-blue Homecoming Kit.
New York City are coming off a disappointing loss to LA Galaxy on the road. The team didn't resemble the fiery squad that almost beat Columbus Crew just five days earlier despite being reduced to 10 players — maybe because they put everything into trying to defeat Columbus just five days earlier despite being reduced to 10 players.
Tonight is another away game on short rest for New York City, who spent most of the week on the road.
Nashville notched a road win over Toronto FC last Saturday after Sam Surridge scored his second of the night in the 90th minute. Toronto looked like the better team for most of the game, but Nashville Surridge found a way to score when it counted most.
New York City vs Nashville H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 |
The head-to-head between these two squads is short, sweet, and favors Nashville. But New York City's one and only win was in their most recent match in April 2023, when Maxine Chanot and Keaton Parks lifted NYCFC to a 2-1 victory at Citi Field.
Both of Nashville's wins came at home, where they are a not-great 2-3-3 this year. One of those three home losses came on June 1, when Nashville just couldn't convert their chances and fell to the lowly New England Revolution. Nashville won the xG battle 3.58 to 0.66, but lost the scoreline 1-2.
Matthew Mangam
New York City FC
• Player Availability: New York City has no one listed as Out ahead of this match. Does the entire team have a clean bill of health? Maybe not, but the injury report does mean that defender Rio Hope-Gund has recovered from his injury (he'd been listed as Out for many weeks).
• Mitja Ilenič is back from his one-match suspension for the red card he received in the loss vs. Columbus. Might he get a chance to redeem himself as rotation returns to the New York City right-back role?
• While they're currently stuck in a modest two-match losing streak, the first half of the 2024 season has seen NYCFC return to form, specifically the type of form the team enjoyed during some of its best-ever seasons. New York City will enter the heart of the summer in good shape, but tests are looming on the horizon, like this latest road match on short rest in Nashville.
• Will Talles Magno take the field? He's become the forgotten Designated Player and reportedly did not hold back while speaking post-match after being an unused substitute vs. the LA Galaxy.
Oliver Strand
Nashville SC
• Player Availability: Julian Gaines (ankle), Randall Leal (hip), and Lukas MacNaughton (ankle) are out injured. In addition, defender Shaq Moore (USA) and midfielder Jacob Shaffelburg (Canada) are on international duty at Copa America. Midfielder Anibal Godoy (Panama) was supposed to be on international duty, too, but he is missing out on Copa America due to a thigh injury.
• Hany Mukhtar isn't scoring like he once did (4 goals so far in 2024 after scoring 15 in 2023 and 23 in 2022), but he does lead Nashville with 6 assists.
• Sam Surridge is now the team's leading goal-scorer with 7 goals in 15 MLS league appearances and 9 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions. The 25-year-old former Nottingham Forest striker joined the team during the 2023 summer transfer window for a reported $7 million transfer fee.
• To learn more about the latest goings-on with Nashville under new interim head coach Rumba Munthali (2 W-3 D-1 L since replacing Gary Smith), read our Oppo Research: Nashville Edition with Ben Wright of Broadway Sports Media.
