2026-09-28
Wednesday at Red Bull Arena is two days away. St. Louis CITY SC arrive sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference with 44 points from 26 games — scoring at 1.73 goals per game against a Red Bull New York side that has conceded 1.85 per game across the MLS season. On balance, expect St. Louis to score at Red Bull Arena; The Playbook predicts a loss for New York on Wednesday night. That is the constraint the schedule has built: back-to-back away wins — the 1-0 win over Columbus Crew and the 1-0 win over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium — steadied the record but not the underlying numbers. Julian Hall's 13 goals across MLS and U.S. Open Cup this season remain New York's sharpest attacking weapon, yet the season-long average of 1.31 goals scored per game has not moved. St. Louis carry a goal difference of plus-nine; New York sit at minus-14. That gap does not close in one match. New York hold eighth place with 33 points. The playoff cutoff is ninth. One dropped result at home to a top-five side narrows the window sharply — and the rescheduled nature of this fixture, per MLSsoccer.com, leaves no room in the calendar to recover it.