Red Bulls face NYCFC, hope to bolster playoff hopes

New York City FC are officially in the playoffs but with three games left, their positioning could wind up in a variety of places.

The New York Red Bulls sit two points out of a playoff spot and the latest installment of the "Hudson River Derby" has two teams focused on improving their place in the postseason race Saturday when NYCFC visits its biggest foe in Harrison, N.J.

NYCFC (16-10-5, 53 points) clinched a playoff spot last Saturday when Alonso Martinez converted two penalty kicks in a 2-0 win over Charlotte. NYCFC was unable to follow up that win by getting blanked for the ninth time in a 4-0 loss to Inter Miami.

NYCFC gave up two goals to superstar Lionel Messi, saw a three-game winning streak stopped and dropped into fifth in the Eastern Conference. NYCFC enters Saturday with a two-point lead on sixth-place Orlando but only three ahead of Nashville and Columbus

"You have to be very clinical in the finishing moments because the quality of the opposition is that high," NYCFC coach Pascal Jansen said. "We were punished severely."

The Red Bulls (12-12-7, 43 points) sit two points behind Chicago for the last playoff spot thanks to a disparity in their performances on the road at home. New York is a woeful 2-10-4 on the road and 10-2-3 at home.

New York is 3-2-1 in its past six contests and ended a three-game winless skid with last Saturday's 2-0 win at CF Montreal. Tim Parker scored his first goal since returning to the team while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting netted his 16th goal.

"It's a really important home game for us," Parker said. "We need all the support we can get, especially as we push to the playoffs."

NYCFC is 3-0-1 in the past four regular-season meetings and earned a 2-0 home win on May 17 when Martinez and Maxi Moralez scored.