Resilient Red Bulls likely need win at Nashville for playoff hopes

The New York Red Bulls need a victory on Sunday when they visit a Nashville SC side chasing MLS history to feel good about their playoff hopes entering the final week of the season.

The Red Bulls (11-15-6, 39 points) have navigated a difficult stretch admirably as they try to climb above the Eastern Conference playoff line, and can move within a point of that threshold with a victory.

They upset Lionel Messi and third-place Inter Miami 2-0 last weekend, and were seven minutes plus stoppage time from taking another crucial point before falling 3-2 at second-place New England on Wednesday night.

And as they visit a Nashville side that has already clinched the Supporters' Shield, those performances give first-year manager Michael Bradley confidence in his team's approach.

"It's a good team and a big game, so we need to be at our best," Bradley said. "Generally speaking, our ideas, our game plan will not change. We're going to go there like we have done every game so far this season and try to go after the game. Try to be aggressive with the ball, against the ball. Try to put Nashville in a game that they have not been in often this year."

Eighteen-year-old Julian Hall scored his team-leading 12th goal against New England. Playmaking midfielder Emil Forsberg played only the final half hour, meaning the 35-year-old should be fresh to start Sunday.

Nashville (21-3-8, 71 points) has two games left to surpass Inter Miami's MLS record of 74 points earned in 2024. After clinching the Shield in with the team's win at CF Montreal last Saturday, manager BJ Callaghan rotated his attack significantly during Nashville's 0-0 draw against the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday. That included leaving leading scorers Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar on the bench for the first 58 minutes.

The result still extended Nashville's unbeaten run to eight matches (5-0-3). And while it was the first scoreless performance in that stretch, Callaghan was pleased overall.

"It took us a while to kind of get into that (attacking) groove, and probably there's some plays out there we probably want to execute better," he said. "But overall, everything this kind of group has gone through over the last 7-10 days, the emotional highs and everything, I'm proud of the way that they at least came out and competed today."

--Field Level Media