Red Bulls Preparing for Hudson River Derby Again against NYCFC

By Daniel Feuerstein | Harrison, NJ | May 15th, 2026

After edging the Columbus Crew in midweek, Red Bull New York is heading back to Sports Illustrated Stadium as they get ready to bring back their rivals from across the Hudson River, as New York City FC is returning for a league match after they fell to the blue side in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. This is an important match, as the three points are on the line. Both sides are now in the upper levels of the Eastern Conference: NYCFC in fifth place and the Red Bulls in sixth. Michael Bradley knows he needs to clean things up to get the win and leap over City.

In that U.S. Open Cup game against City, the Red Bulls did very well defending during the run of play, but it was the corners where they were left exposed, and City took advantage of a height difference against the centerbacks. Three goals went in, and Maxi Moralez dictated all three as he curled them in perfect position to his teammates and got the win to advance to the quarterfinals. That was the big issue in that game, and now the Red Bulls need to right the ship as they have lost the last four games to City in the MLS Regular season.

“It’s a really big game. For every club around the world, there are games that… ultimately mean a little bit more. Count for a little bit more with our fans. Obviously, we had the Open Cup match against them a few weeks ago. We felt like it was a good game, but on the night, we let them get the better of us with a few set pieces, and so, we’ve spent a good time over the last day or two looking at ourselves over the last few games, looking back at bits and pieces of that cup game, and making sure that we’re prepared in every way.

One of the best parts about the way we play, our football ideas, and the way we go about it is that, ultimately, nothing changes based on the opponent. We have our ideas. We want to step on the field. Put the game on our terms in every single way, and obviously, we have full respect for the opponent, and we do the absolute best job that we can to make sure that we give them a really clear idea of what the game will look like and feel like. But ultimately, when that whistle blows, we want to play our football, and we want to put the game on our terms,” said Michael Bradlety

There’s not much you can say about Julian Hall right now. In his first 13 matches in League Play and 15 in all competitions, he has been on a scoring tear, and it’s been fantastic to see. Since getting the nod from Michael Bradley, Hall has scored in nine league matches and 12 in all competitions. He has two braces, and he finally earned his first career hat trick in the midweek win over the Columbus Crew. He needs one more goal to get ten, and if this pace keeps up, he might become the second striker in club history to score 20 goals or more in a season, and that means entering Bradley Wright-Phillips territory.

“Yeah, he’s had a really, really good start to the season. There’s no two ways about it. His ability to understand how to move, how to find chances based on the football that we play. That part has been excellent. And obviously, the part that goes with his work is his understanding of how we want to play and press against the ball. And so his contributions have been really, really important. And as I say all the time, we’re going to keep pushing him because I think there’s still more. I know that there’s still more there for me. We’re going to continue to try to make his game even more complete, raise the bar for him in as many ways as possible,” said Bradley

Justin Che has returned to the Red Bulls roster and eased back into the matches as a second half substitute since returning from a pulled right hamstring he suffered. It’s been small increments for Che, but right now, Michael Bradley is trying to be cautious with Che, and he wants him to get back to full fitness for the second half of the season, when they return from the World Cup break. He’s very important to Bradley’s plans, and he wants to make sure that everything will get back to where they need to be.

“Obviously, it’s great to have Justin back. It was a long injury. We didn’t want to rush anything. He had a really good start to the season for us, and he’s a really important guy for what we’re doing and the direction that we’re taking. Taking everything into account. Again, the last thing we want to do is just throw him in and give him too much too soon. We’ve really tried to be smart and to be calculated with how we have eased him back in. That’s been a good discussion between me, Justin, the medical staff, the performance staff, and so we’re going to continue to find the right ways to build him up and make sure that we have him at his best for the rest of the season,” said Bradley

For the last several seasons, we have seen Ronald Donkor playing more in that defensive midfield role when he was transferred to the Red Bulls from Guidars FC in Mali. He was used either as a second half substitute or a fill-in for spot starting. Now, he is a starting midfielder, and he has dazzled on the right side. He has scored a goal and created four assists. One of those assists came in the road match at the Chicago Fire in the three goals to one victory as he set up Cade Cowell for his first goal of the season. He’s been active, dangerous, and now a real threat against the opposition’s defense since Bradley took over.

“Ronnie has really good, really good starting points. He loves to play, he loves to train, he has so much life and personality. One of the things that I knew was going to be important when I started with the first team was to find a way to get started to get the best out of Ronnie, because he has really interesting qualities. And, you know, I think obviously the team plays differently. This year than they did last year. And so I think we count on Ronnie in a big way as an eight in the center of the field in terms of hitting.

His ability to help us play, his press resistance, the way that he can take balls in tight spots and find the right solutions, and obviously, he’s very active. That he covers a lot of ground, he helps us in a big way against the ball in terms of his stepping up, his pressing, and his ability to move from inside out when we need it. And so we’re really pleased with his progress. And he’s another player that I know still has a lot more to come,” said Bradley

Once again, this match is huge for the Red Bulls. Not just to end that four-match losing streak in league play, but to find a way to climb the Eastern Conference Table, and with one more match, to put themselves in a better position for the World Cup break. This will be a big moment for this group and the change that they want to make for the future. The time to end this losing streak is now, and the hope is to get the job done within these 90 minutes.

This match is during the Walmart Saturday Showdown at 7:30 PM Eastern on Apple TV. BROADCASTERS: English: Steve Cangelosi & Danny Higginbothom, Spanish: Bruno Vain & Andres Agulla

OFFICIALS:

REF: Victor Rivas
AR1: Ian McKay
AR2: Matthew Nelson
4TH: Lorenzo Hernandez
VAR: Filip Dujic
AVAR: TJ Zablocki