Matchdays ping ponging around the metropolitan area will soon come to an end for New York City FC. But until Etihad Park opens its doors in Queens next July, repurposed baseball stadiums in the Bronx and Flushing will continue to house the team.
When the 2026 MLS schedule was unveiled, the Los Angeles Football Club planned to visit Yankee Stadium on May 6 for the second time since 2019.
Advancing to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal meant a match against Toluca for the same Wednesday night, so the NYCFC contest was tentatively postponed until Nov. 4 at the Mets’ Citi Field. That would have required LAFC to play its final regular-season home match on Nov. 1, play in New York three days later, then head to Seattle for its regular-season finale on Nov. 7.
When the Yankees made the MLB postseason and the Mets did not, NYCFC shifted several games to Citi Field and re-rescheduled its match with LAFC for this Saturday, splitting what would have been four consecutive home games for the Black & Gold.
As it stands, a subset of Dodgers and Yankees fans can commiserate about more than their baseball teams being swept out of the playoffs.
Anyone also rooting for LAFC or NYCFC hasn’t had fun since July transitioned to August.
As a result, 10th-place NYCFC (8-12-9, 33 points), led by Dutch head coach Pascal Jansen, is below the Eastern Conference playoff line.
Like LAFC, the club hemorrhaged points for 2½ months.
Losing 2-0 at Inter Miami last weekend dropped Jansen’s Pigeons to 1-6-5 over that stretch.
LAFC, meanwhile, went 2-4-6 and dismissed its head coach.
The departed Marc Dos Santos helmed one of those victories over Red Bull New York in September.
Current interim head coach Xavi Tamarit claimed the other one on Wednesday, when LAFC defeated struggling Austin FC, 3-1, at BMO Stadium.
“It was a good game from us and we need to be consistent in that way,” Tamarit said. “I hope on Saturday to continue seeing the same attitude and same concepts we were doing in the last game.”
Sparked by six goal contributions from Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga, the outcome instilled confidence that the Black & Gold could move past its dry spell before the playoffs.
Piggybacking on the Red Bull victory to take a season sweep of the New York teams could go a long way in Tamarit and his players turning the corner together.
“I think right now the team is in a good moment with confidence after the last two games,” Tamarit said. “And we need to take advantage of this.”
Seven points in eight days by drawing with top-seeded Vancouver, beating Austin and managing to win outside of L.A. for the first time since beating Minnesota in April would fit the bill.
LAFC is 3-6-6 away from BMO Stadium, though that includes a dominant El Trafico victory in Carson coming out of the World Cup that started a string of three wins in July prior to hitting the skids and the Dos Santos departure.
All the while, LAFC kept itself within reach of a playoff berth. Points against New York combined with a variety of other outcomes going its way would clinch a spot for the eighth time in nine seasons.
LAFC (12-9-9, 45 points) flew to New York on Thursday and trained the following evening at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, home to NYCFC 2.
The senior team finished 4-4-2 at Yankee Stadium in 2026 after losing to the rival Red Bulls on Sept. 18.
NYCFC is 0-3-1 at Citi Field this season with three games left.
“No particular reason we haven’t won at Citi Field yet,” Jansen said, “but it’s also another opportunity to make it happen.”
Both stadiums feature tight playing surfaces, 110 yards by 70 yards, making NYCFC home matches the smallest field configuration in MLS.
“It’s going to be hard to attack wide but we will need patience and we have different weapons to try and win the game,” said Tamarit, who expects action to unfold in the central areas with exploitable space coming via direct play behind defenders.
Tamarit continues to favor Denis Bouanga as a striker because he believes the team has more attacking options that way. The coach’s two games in charge brought numerous chances from crosses or at the byline that were not there prior to the change, he said.
Meanwhile, Argentine midfielder Nico Fernández Mercau leads NYCFC with 15 goals, tied for fifth in MLS, two behind Bouanga following the Frenchman’s two-goal game against Austin.
LAFC AT NYCFC
When: Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Citi Field, New York
TV/Radio: Apple TV/710 AM, 980 AM, 1230 AM, SiriusXM FC 157