NYCFC vs New York Red Bulls: How to watch, time, and more of Conference Semifinals

New York City FC finished the year in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, and the New York Red Bulls finished in seventh.  Not many would have thought there would be a chance for the rivals to play one another in the playoffs based on where they finished and the fact they were the lower seeds in their Round One Best-of-3 series.  However, NYCFC beat FC Cincinnati via a penalty kick shootout, and RBNY won their series against the Columbus Crew.

As a result, the teams will play the first-ever Hudson River Derby in the MLS Cup Playoffs.  NYCFC will try to repeat their recent derby performance, for the Pigeons won 5-1 at Red Bull Arena.  The New Jersey side will want revenge.  Therefore, fans expect this to be a highly contested battle and a fantastic Conference Semifinal matchup.

This time around, the teams will play in Queens.  Originally, there was an attendance cap of 22,500.  Thankfully, the front office was able to increase the cap to a little over 25,000.  This is still not ideal, but at least the New York Mets agreed to open up more seating.  There is no question that supporters of both teams would be out in full force.  If there was no cap, then it is extremely possible the baseball stadium would have had 30,000 or more.

More importantly, NYCFC enters the game predominantly healthy.  The only player who is missing is Malachi Jones.  The rookie continues to recover from his leg injury.  However, that means Nick Cushing has plenty of players to choose from for the Starting XI.  Still, hopefully, his best players will start the match.

How to watch, time, and more of the playoff derby between NYCFC and RBNY

Date  

Saturday, November 23

Time  

5:30 PM ET, with an expected kickoff at 5:40 PM ET

How to watch on TV and streaming

MLS Season Pass via Apple TV

How to watch in person

Supporters can go to Citi Field in Queens

How to listen

newyorkcityfc.com/radio or via the NYCFC app

How to follow

If NYCFC fans cannot watch or listen to the game, then they can follow along via MLS Soccer’s timeline and NYCFC’s X account.

Final Notes

Fans who are going to the game should be aware there are service changes for the 7 train.  There will be free shuttle buses along the path of the stations that are closed.  NYCFC was also kind to list other travel alternatives to get to Citi Field.