“New York City FC will try to snap a five-game winless streak and strengthen their fading playoff hopes when they host Los Angeles FC on Saturday night.
NYCFC, who have picked up just four points in their last six games, sit 10th in the Eastern Conference, three points behind ninth-place FC Cincinnati despite having played one more game.
New York City (8-12-9, 33 points) was held scoreless in a 2-0 loss to Inter Miami on Wednesday.
Despite conceding the second-fewest goals (40) in the Eastern Conference, NYCFC has won only one MLS game since the beginning of August. That victory — a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Sept. 12 — marked the team’s fifth shutout of the season.
But New York City lacks offensive prowess behind midfielder Nicolas Fernandez. He has a team-leading 15 goals with eight assists. No one else has more than six goals.
With only five games remaining, NYCFC is fighting to avoid missing the playoffs for the third time in their 12-year existence.
“We’ve been trying to approach each and every game that we have remaining as a final, making sure we get the most out of the games,” New York City coach Pascal Jansen said. “That remains unchanged going into the final stretch of five games.”
Los Angeles (12-9-9, 45 points) snapped a four-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over Austin FC on Wednesday. Denis Bouanga netted a second-half brace, including the eventual game-winner, while Son Heung-Min added late insurance. Those three goals came within a 20-minute span.
“It’s good for the confidence. We need goals, we need passing, we have to do defense too, and we need points,” Bouanga said. “The confidence, the stronger the mentality, all things that are good for the team.”
LAFC, who had won just one of their previous 11 games, strengthened their hold on sixth place in the Western Conference with Wednesday’s victory. They lead seventh-place Seattle by four points.
The main issue has been lackluster scoring. Los Angeles scored just twice during its five MLS games in August. Bouanga, who is tied for fourth in the MLS Golden Boot race, has often been a one-man show.
But that trend didn’t continue on Wednesday, as Son had a goal and two assists to help lead the offense. Forward Jacob Shaffelburg contributed an assist off the bench.
This will be the lone meeting between the two squads in 2026.
–Field Level Media
