With a place in the playoffs in sight, Pascal Jansen described New York City FC’s remaining MLS fixtures as “10 finals”, starting with a clash against Nashville SC.
New York sit eighth in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the New York Red Bulls, who are just outside the cutoff line to qualify for the postseason.
The Pigeons have seen an upturn in form of late, with their thrilling 4-3 win over FC Dallas last time out making it three league games unbeaten at this late stage of the season.
But Jansen’s side face some tough fixtures in the final stretch of their campaign, including games against Conference rivals Columbus Crew, Inter Miami and FC Cincinnati.
And the NYCFC head coach did not understate the importance of their upcoming league matches, but he is confident that his players can deliver under pressure.
“It’s the final stage of the league,” Jansen said. “We obviously had our review and looked at how we got ourselves into this situation and the position we are in now.
“We are also pleased with the way the team is growing moving forward. The conclusion is simple. We have 10 finals to get what we want, which is the playoffs.
“That has not changed if you go back to the beginning of the season. But now, it is 10 games to get the job done. We are very determined and committed to making that happen.”
On deck: Nashville pic.twitter.com/aAMzWNXYBV
— New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) August 13, 2025
Nashville, meanwhile, have stumbled in recent weeks. B.J. Callaghan’s side lost back-to-back MLS games for just the second time in the 2025 season last time out.
They were beaten by Western Conference leaders San Diego FC before falling to St. Louis City SC, but they still find themselves in third in the Eastern Conference.
Callaghan has reiterated that he will judge his team for their process rather than results, despite the Coyotes going on a club-record 12-game unbeaten run earlier this season.
And while Nashville midfielder Patrick Yazbek believes his team’s performances have deserved more points, he insisted that their losing streak has not affected the group.
“That’s the idea. We want to be process-orientated,” Yazbeck said. “I don’t think we want to reflect on the previous results, no matter whether they were positive or negative.
“It’s a mentality where the next game is the most important. That is literally it. Obviously, it’s unfortunate for us that we have not got the results that we wanted recently.
“But it has not come up in conversation all week. We have been so focused on this game as a singular fixture against New York. That is the approach we will take from now.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
NYCFC – Alonso Martinez
Martinez has led NYCFC’s playoff charge from the front, scoring 12 times and recording one assist so far this season, with the midfielder stealing the show last time out.
Indeed, Martinez scored his second regular-season hat-trick for the Pigeons in their seven-goal thriller with Dallas, becoming only the second player in club history to score multiple regular-season trebles, after Valentin Castellanos, who did so in 2020 and 2022.
Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar continues to impress for high-flying Nashville this season, with only Sam Surridge (18) finding the back of the net more times in the MLS this season than the midfielder (12), scoring the only goal in their defeat to St. Louis.
Indeed, the German recorded his 59th regular-season MLS match with at least one goal, seven more than any other player since he made his debut in the competition in 2020.
MATCH PREDICTION: NYCFC WIN
The away side has never won in seven all-time meetings between New York and Nashville (D2 L5), with this weekend’s hosts recording two wins and a draw in three home matches against the Coyotes.
New York have, however, won 10 of their last 13 regular-season home matches (L3), including the last two in a row. The Pigeons won two straight home league matches for the fourth time this season but are still looking to win three in a row at home for the first time in 2025.
Nashville, meanwhile, suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since between late March and early April. Between those two losing streaks, Callaghan’s side lost just two of 20 matches in all competitions (W14 D4).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYCFC – 41.1%
Draw – 26.7%
Nashville SC – 32.2%
