Philadelphia Union v New York City FC: Jansen lauds resilience as strongest trait

New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen believes their resilience is one of their strongest traits after their win over rivals New York Red Bulls.

Despite failing to hold onto two different leads in their last match, NYCFC managed to secure a 3-2 win against the Red Bulls and eliminate them from playoff contention in the process.

That came off the back of a humbling 4-0 defeat against Inter Miami, while Jansen's side, who are third in the table, face another tough test in Eastern Conference leaders, the Philadelphia Union, in their next game.

Speaking ahead of that fixture, Jansen explained how their victory in the Hudson River Derby displayed their strong mentality.

"It says a lot about the character of the team, obviously, coming back, or bouncing back, from a bad result against Miami," Jansen said.

"I think Miami was a game where we played pretty well for 70 minutes or so, didn’t reward ourselves in the first half, got punished for a few mistakes at a high level, but that was discussed last week.

"So the focus was on Red Bull, bouncing back and keeping it simple, knowing there was pressure beyond just their strategy.

"Getting the goal in an early stage of the game helped us, and we showed great character in that game. Them coming back the way they did, and still getting the three points like we did, is a massive compliment to the team."

The Union, meanwhile, will guarantee their spot at the top of the Eastern Conference with a win against NYCFC, or if they equal FC Cincinnati's result against the Red Bulls.

Bradley Carnell's side returned to their usual dominance last time out as they thrashed D.C. United 6-0 on the road, making it two wins on the bounce following their 7-0 thrashing at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Philadelphia Union – Indiana Vassilev

Indiana Vassilev scored his third career brace in last Saturday's win over D.C., with all three of his multi-goal games coming with different teams.

Vassilev has scored 15 regular-season goals, scoring five for Inter Miami, five for St. Louis City SC and five for Philadelphia.

New York City FC – Alonso Martinez

Alonso Martinez has scored nine goals in regular-season away matches this season, including six goals in his last five road matches.

His nine road goals are tied for second most in a single season for NYCFC, with only David Villa recording more (10) in 2016.

MATCH PREDICTION – PHILADELPHIA UNION WIN

Philadelphia picked up their 11th win with a clean sheet in the 2025 regular season in their win against D.C. That is tied for the most shutout victories this season, with Charlotte FC, and one shy of tying the team’s single-season record (12 in 2022).

In the Hudson River Derby on Saturday, NYCFC notched their ninth league win since the start of July. That is tied for the most MLS victories in that time, with Charlotte.

Philadelphia and NYCFC have each recorded 10 wins in their 22 all-time regular-season meetings (D2); there have been no draws in the 11 regular-season matches in the fixture hosted by the Union (PHI W6, NYCFC W5).

In their last six league matches, Philadelphia have won four and lost two. NYCFC, meanwhile, have won four and lost two in their last six.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Philadelphia Union – 50.8%

Draw – 25%

New York City FC – 24.3%