NYCFC hope to build momentum against hot Fire

New York City FC will look to build off arguably its biggest win of the season when it hosts a Chicago Fire side that has won four in a row across all competitions.

NYCFC (6-5-3, 21 points) was impressive in a 2-0 home victory over the rival New York Red Bulls last Saturday, a match decided by Alonso Martinez's seventh goal early in the first half before Maxi Moralez's insurance tally early in the second.

It was the first multiple-goal win for head coach Pascal Jansen, and a fourth over an opponent that entered the game in an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

However, Jansen's group has struggled against less-accomplished competition, including a loss at Montreal and a draw against D.C. United leading into the Hudson River Derby fixture.

"So you have a very good, consistent game against Cincinnati (on May 3) and then the two games after where I'm like, is this the same team? This is a good step forward, but I'm already looking forward to the next game to see if we can stay consistent," Jansen said after beating the Red Bulls.

The Fire (5-4-4, 19 points) earned a 3-1 win at the New England Revolution on Tuesday night to secure a place in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and extend their winning streak. Before that in the league, they beat Atlanta United 2-1 at hom and Charlotte FC 4-1 on the road for their first MLS wins since March 22.

Gregg Berhalter did rotate his squad somewhat for the Open Cup fixture. But regulars Hugo Cuypers and Philip Zinckernagel were among the scorers for a club that has always valued the competition, winning it on four occasions.

With five days to recover from that trip and no midweek game next week, Berhalter didn't see fixture congestion as an excuse for a lesser performance.

"We're trying to instill in this group the belief that you can play three games in a week, it's not that big of a deal," Berhalter said. "It was a group that had the desire to win, and we wanted to go out and have a good performance."

-Field Level Media