NYCFC return home to Yankee Stadium as they host D.C. United on Saturday night.
The Boys In Blue stopped a six-match winless run with a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United while the Red and Black are on a three-match winless streak after dropping a 3-2 decision to MLS leaders New England.
Both teams are on 41 points with D.C. United above NYCFC on goal difference.
Team news
NYCFC will be without defender Anton Tinnerholm, who is dealing with an Achilles injury and midfielder Nicolas Acevedo, missing through a lower body issue.
Edison Flores, Brenden Daniel Hines-Ike and Yordy Reyna are all missing through injury while attacker Paul Arriola is doubtful, but is edging closer to a return.
Predicted lineups
NYCFC: Johnson; Amundsen, Chanot, Callens, Gray; Parks, Sands; Medina, Moralez, Andrade; Castellanos
D.C. United: Hamid; Pines, Birnbaum, Najar; Gressel, Moreno, Canouse, Paredes; Asad, Robertha; Kamara
Ones to watch
Valentin Castellanos (NYCFC)
It seems he's always the one to look out for, but in truth, despite the Boys In Blue having several lethal attacking options, the Argentine is the one to spark the club's offense as evidenced by teams getting physical with him in recent matches.
Nigel Robertha (D.C. United)
He scored the opener in this fixture in June and also started the attempted comeback against New England last week. Combined with Julian Gressel, who is in good form himself, gives the Black and Red an in-form one-two attacking punch.
Previous meetings
NYCFC has never lost a home match to D.C. United, winning five and drawing two in seven all-time matchups.
The last meeting was in June at Red Bull Arena when the Boys In Blue snatched an improbable 2-1 victory.
Nigel Robertha gave the visitors a ninth-minute lead before Keaton Parks leveled and Thiago Andrade's 95th-minute winner gave NYCFC all three points on the last kick of the game.
How to watch
The match will be streamed nationally by ESPN+. The YES Network will have coverage in New York with the YES Network app also providing local streaming access.
NBC Sports Washington and TeleXitos have the television coverage in Washington D.C. with the club website also carrying streaming rights in the nation's capital.
Kick-off is set for 7:30pm Eastern time.