Mihailovic wants Rapids in conversation for best team in the West

Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith said his team will continue to work on their lack of goal threat as they prepare to travel to the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday.

Charlotte sits seventh in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind the Red Bulls after going undefeated in their last five matches.

However, their last two outings ended 0-0 against the LA Galaxy and Philadelphia Union, as they only managed six shots on target combined in those matches.

When asked how he approaches a situation like that, Smith said: “We talk openly, go over every game and the fact is we probably didn’t work enough with the goalkeeper.

“We’ve talked about it and what we think we can do to improve that. We’ve had some opportunities, and we probably haven’t done as well as we could with those, so that’s something on which we will continue to work on.

“It’s going to be a tough game (against the Red Bulls) because they’re a tough team.”

The Red Bulls are coming off a 10-day break following their derby defeat to New York City FC on May 19 and sit fifth in the table.

Head coach Sandro Schwarz said: “The performance (against NYCFC) was not the best and we were not able to create chances to score and get three points.

“We want more and we have to improve a lot, but that’s normal. We need time, but the mentality, the behavior, they adapt very quickly and very well.

“We were disappointed to lose the derby, but it happens. Be careful, we have to come back stronger and seize the next opportunity.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Cameron Harper

Harper scored New York’s only goal in its final game, its third straight game with a goal. He is the first Red Bulls player to score in three consecutive regular season matches since Patryk Klimala in 2021, and the last Red Bulls player to score in four consecutive league matches was Bradley Wright-Phillips in July–August 2017 .

Charlotte – Kristijan Kahlina

Charlotte has kept clean sheets in five straight regular season matches, the only team to do so in MLS this season. The only team since 2008 to keep a clean sheet in six consecutive games in a single regular season was New York City FC in May 2022, and Kahlina will look to match that record.

GAME PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN

The Red Bulls have lost just one of their six all-time meetings with Charlotte in all competitions, a 2-0 away defeat in June 2022. New York has won three of their four home matches against Charlotte (D1), scoring multiple goals in every game, including a 5-2 victory in last year’s playoffs.

The Red Bulls are undefeated in eight consecutive home matches since last season (5 wins, 3 draws, including playoffs). New York has not had a longer unbeaten streak at home in MLS since a nine-match run between August 2018 and March 2019.

Meanwhile, Charlotte won 1-0 at Chicago in their last away match after a seven-game winless streak on the road in all competitions. Charlotte has never recorded consecutive away wins in any competition before.

PROBABILITY OF WINNING OPTA

New York Red Bulls – 53%

Circulation – 23.9%

Charlotte – 23.1%