Betting-Previews.com brings you a Major League Soccer (MLS) betting preview for a match between Nashville SC and New York City, who will clash on Friday, September 3 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. It will mark their only second meeting in history and the first since February 2019, when New York City won 2-0 in a club friendly fixture.
Nashville SC vs New York City
When: Friday, September 3 – 18:30 CDT
Where: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, USA
Weather: Cloudy, 25°C
Nashville SC and New York City will clash in their first official match on Friday, September 3, with weakened squads, as both lost four players to national duties. Regardless, this is nothing unusual in the MLS; and the teams should be ready for these situations.
The two squads sit right next to one another in the Eastern Conference standings. Nashville holds a one-point lead at 35, ahead of New York City at 34, albeit with 21 games played compared to New York’s 30.
A win for either side today will catapult them to the second spot in the standings, behind the undisputed leaders New England Revolution who have a firm hold of the top spot with 49 points after 23 rounds of play.
Nashville Counting on Home Advantage
Nashville SC sit third in the Eastern Conference with an 8-11-2 record and 2-2-1 in their last five outings. During that stretch, Gary Smith’s men won against DC United (5-2) and Atlanta Utd (2-0), lost against Inter Miami (1-2), and forced two draws against New England Revolution (0-0) and Orlando City (1-1).
Although solid results on their own, it’s also fair to mention that Nashville SC are unbeaten at the Nissan Stadium, where they hold a respectable 7-6-0 record. On the road, Nashville SC haven’t been too impressive (1-5-2), albeit we have to mention that they’re fresh off an impressive 2-0 win against Atlanta Utd, who entered the match on a four-game winning streak.
Interestingly, both of Nashville SC’s goals on the day came in injury time (45’+2, 90’+5) via Daniel Rios, who scored his first goal since November, and Rendall Leal, who is at four goals across 21 starts. All in all, Nashville deserved to win that bout, as they were clearly the better team.
They have kept Atlanta Utd at only two shots on goal and 10 attempts while shooting the ball 5/16 themselves.
For tonight’s match, Smith won’t be able to count on Anibal Godoy, Walker Zimmerman, Alistair Johnston, and Randall Leal, who are out playing for their country.
New York City Struggle On the Road
New York City enter this match with a 10-4-6 record on the season and 34 points, which sits them in fourth in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand. Across their last five, New York City are 2-2-1, with wins against Inter Miami (2-0) and New England Revolution (2-0), two draws against Chicago Fire (0-0) and Toronto FV (2-2), and a loss against Philadelphia Union (1-0) on the road.
Talking about road games, New York City aren’t exactly what you would call solid travellers. Only nine of their 34 points have come on the road, where they are 2-3-4 with a 10-11 GD. What’s more, New York City haven’t won an away game since late May, when they edged out Los Angeles FC (2-1).
Across their last five trips, New York City are 0-2-3. That includes two draws against Chicago Fire (0-0) and Toronto FC (2-2), and three losses against Club de Foot Montreal (1-2), Columbus Crew (1-2) and Philadelphia Union (0-1).
Obviously, New York City aren’t in the best form and are far from potent travellers. On a more positive note, they bounced back last round with a 2-0 victory against the current Eastern leaders, New England Revolution.
New York City will miss Gudi Thórarinsson, Heber, Alex Callens, Maxime Chanot, and James Sands for this match.
Nashville SC vs New York City Betting Pick
Playing at home is a massive advantage in the MLS. Outside of New England Revolution, who have managed 21 points on the road (6-3-3), not a single Eastern Conference team managed positive results playing on the road – the closest is Orlando City with a 3-4-3 record in away games.
With that in mind, it’s easy to favour Nashville SC for this match, especially considering that they are unbeaten at the Nissan Stadium across 13 games (7-6-0) and are 3-2-0 in their last five. In contrast, New York City have not won a single away game in their last five (0-2-3).
We like the hosts better!
Prediction: Nashville SC +0.00 Asian Handicap – 2.03 at Sportmarket
