Austin vs NY Red Bulls

Sports Mole previews Sunday’s MLS Playoffs clash between Austin FC and New York Red Bulls, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

For only the second time in their history, the New York Red Bulls will visit Q2 Stadium in the Texas capital to face Austin FC in MLS action on Saturday.

The Verde and Black sit seventh in the Western Conference following a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rapids, while New York are sixth in the East, blanking Atlanta United by that same score the last time out.

Match preview

It took a while for them to get back on track, but Austin claimed another MLS away victory last weekend, their first as the visitors since late March (1-0 at St Louis City).

That was also the seventh clean sheet of the regular season for the Texas club, who have lost seven competitive fixtures so far in 2025.

To this stage of the year they have won just three of their nine home matches in this competition but have only lost one of their previous seven league games at Q2 Stadium (3-0 versus Minnesota United).

Nico Estevez has this team currently holding down the final automatic place in the opening round of the playoffs despite netting the fewest goals in the Western Conference (13).

Austin have not lost an MLS home game versus an Eastern Conference opponent since July 2022, when the Red Bulls claimed a narrow 4-3 victory.

With 23 points after 18 domestic matchdays the Verde and Black have collected their exact same total from this stage last year under Josh Wolff.

A dramatic come-from-behind victory over Dallas at the US Open Cup seems to have rekindled hope for the Red Bulls, who have looked much better over the past few weeks.

Before that shootout victory versus the Toros in May, the 2024 MLS Cup runners-up had lost three of their previous four league fixtures.

Since that triumph, though, Sandro Schwarz has seen his side win three straight league contests, and another victory this weekend would equal their longest domestic winning run since October 2021 (four games).

Only three points currently separate them from FC Cincinnati for second in the East, though New York City FC, who are on the outside of the playoff picture, have just two points fewer than their arch-rivals.

New York have lost three of their last four league contests away from home, but on Saturday the New Jersey based side can win consecutive road games in MLS for the first time since October 2023.

The Red Bulls have never tasted defeat in two prior meetings versus Austin and have not lost a regular-season affair to a club from Texas since July 2019 (4-0 at the Houston Dynamo).

Austin FC Major League Soccer form:

Austin FC form (all competitions):

New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer form:

New York Red Bulls form (all competitions):

In their victory over the Rapids, Austin were missing Julio Cascante due to a hamstring strain, while Myrto Uzuni and Micah Burton were on international duty.

Mikkel Desler and an own goal from Rafael Navarro was all they would need to earn maximum points from that match, as Brad Stuver made five stops for the clean sheet.

Meanwhile, the Red Bulls did not have Felipe Carballo available the last time out due to abdominal problems, Dylan Nealis sat out with sore muscles and Lewis Morgan was sidelined with a knee injury.

Cameron Harper and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting netted in their victory over the Five Stripes, while Carlos Coronel picked up the shutout with three saves.

Austin FC possible starting lineup:

Stuver; Desler, Svatok, Hines-Ike, Biro; Bukari, Pereira, Sanchez, Gallagher; Wolff; Vazquez

New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:

Coronel; Duncan, Eile, Hack, Valencia; Carmona, Edelman, Stroud; Harper, Forsberg; Choupo-Moting

We say: Austin FC 1-2 New York Red BullsThe Red Bulls seem to have finally got their act together, and we expect their experience and recent momentum will enable them to continue their winning ways.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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Data AnalysisOur analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a Austin FC win with a probability of 52.02%. A win for New York Red Bulls has a probability of 24.48% and a draw has a probability of 23.5%.

The most likely scoreline for an Austin FC win is 1-0 with a probability of 9.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome are 2-1 (9.72%) and 2-0 (8.58%). The likeliest New York Red Bulls win is 0-1 (6.28%), while for a drawn scoreline it is 1-1 (11.05%).

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