Toronto vs New York City: Preview and Prediction

Toronto FC vs New York City FC;
MLS Eastern Conference.
Date: Thursday, 19-May-2016.
Kick-off: 00:00 GMT
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario.

Toronto FC look for their first win against New York City FC when the two sides meet at the BMO Field on Wednesday evening 7 pm Eastern time.

Toronto FC have already witnessing ups and downs in the current season and are 4th in the Eastern Conference standings. Their 3-4 home defeat against Vancouver last Sunday marked their second defeat in three games. That was only their second home games of the season and have 1 win and 1 defeat so far and they will be looking to bounce back with a win against a New York City on strong form.

New York have registered back-to-back wins for the first time this season and their 2-1 away win at Portland is the third win in the row. They have also climbed to second in the Eastern Conference table and will be relaying on the strong goal scoring form in their trip to Toronto.

Form Guide

Toronto’s form in the last five games is 3 wins and 2 defeats. They have scored 9 goals and conceded 5 during the period, but kept a clean sheet in three of those.

The Reds have played 8 of their 10 matches so far away from home. Their last two games were at home, they won and lost one each.

New York City are coming on the back of 3 wins in a row, after failing to win in the previous 7. They have scored 2 or more goals in each of their last three matches.

New York’s form in the five away matches played in the season so far is 3 wins and 2 draws; also won in each of their last two away games.

Toronto FC: Predicted Line-up (4-3-1-2)

Irwin – Beitashour, Perquis, Moor, Morrow – Johnson, Bradley, Osorio – Endoh – Giovinco, Altidore.

New York City: Predicted Line-up (4-3-3)

Saunders – Allen, Brilliant, Hernandez, Matarrita – Pirlo, Lopez, Diskerud – McNamara, Shelton, Villa.

Toronto vs New York City: Head-to-Head Stats

The teams have already met once this season and played out a 2-2 stalemate at the Yankee Stadium on 13th March. A double from David Villa put New York 2-0 up after 28 minutes, but ex-Juventus man Sebastian Giovinco led the comeback by assisting Damien Perquis for Toronto’s first goal, before finding the back of the net himself in the 78th minute.

New York City haven’t lost to Toronto in the four matches played between the two sides in MLS so far; with 2 wins and 2 draws.

This will be only the second time that Toronto are hosting New York in a league game. The first being a 2-0 win for New York played on June 2015, also the first ever meeting between the sides.

New York City have scored at least 2 goals in each of the 4 meetings between the two sides.

Toronto vs New York City: Prediction

Toronto must find some consistency to their game and has so far failed to string together some good results. However, they are still in the play-off zone and has played less home games than any other team in the league.

The Reds conceded 4 goals against Vancouver last time up, despite keeping 3 clean sheets in the previous four matches. A similar defensive display will put them in trouble against a free scoring New York. With the likes of David Villa are Pirlo in excellent form, New York seems unstoppable at the moment and are tipped to extend their winning streak to four games on Wednesday.

A 2-1 win for the visitors is my prediction and I believe over 2.5 goals is a safe bet.