Match Preview: New York City FC II v Chattanooga FC
Sunday's game is only second ever meeting of these sides
Game details
Match: New York City FC II v Chattanooga FC
Date: Sunday, September 28th, 2025. 19:30 (Eastern)
Venue: Icahn Stadium, New York, NY. Capacity: 5,000
How to watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+
Tickets: ticketmaster
We’re into the penultimate round of matches for the 2025 MLS Next Pro season this weekend. Chattanooga FC, unbeaten in five (and a bit) games and chasing a top four spot, visits an NYCFC II side in a desperate quest for a playoff spot. By the time this game takes place and this preview goes out, other matches will have been played that will determine where these sides are and what they need to do to reach their aims. Simply put, both need to win!
New York City FC II (P:26 W:9 D:6 L:11 SOW:2 GF:50 GA:56 GD:-6) comes into this round of games in ninth place, one place and three points off eighth and playoff soccer. Other results this weekend will have a strong bearing on their chances. They’re two wins and three losses from their previous five games. At home, they’ve won seven and lost six.
Chattanooga (P:25 W:11 D:8 L:6 SOW:4 GF:39 GA:35 GD:+4) clinched a playoff spot last week and is now looking to finish in the top four in the Eastern Conference to earn the right to host a playoff match at Finley Stadium. Huntsville City (4th) and Chicago Fire II (5th) both sit just one point above CFC, but Chattanooga has a game-in hand. On Wednesday night, their match at Atlanta United 2 was postponed after 71 minutes. They were leading 1-0 at the time and if that result holds when the tie is eventually finished, they’ll be ahead of Huntsville and Chicago. A win on Sunday in New York would put them in the driving seat to seal fourth. Chattanooga has taken points from eight of their fourteen road games.
The match will be held at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island and kicks off at 7.30pm Eastern. Officiated by Spaniard Cristian Campo, it will be streamed on Apple TV+ for those with the MLS Season Pass.
The history
New York: P:1 W:0 D:1 L:0 SOW:1 GF:1 GA:1 GD:0
Chattanooga: P:1 W:0 D:1 L:0 SOW:0 GF:1 GA:1 GD:0
Sunday night’s game will be only the second meeting between these two sides. On March 27, 2024 they met at Belson Stadium in Queens and played out a 1-1 draw. Goals that night were scored by Taylor Gray (now with Tormenta FC) for Chattanooga and an equalizer from Jonathan Shore for NYCFC. New York went on to win the PK shootout 4-2.
Both sides are much changed since. Of Chattanooga’s starting XI then, only two players (Milo Garvanian and Alex McGrath) are still with the club while only four of New York’s players are still with the NYCFC organization.
Sunday’s match will be the only regular season game between New York and Chattanooga in 2025.
Report cards and lineups
New York
NYCFC II’s English Head Coach Matt Pilkington is into his fourth year with the Young Pigeons. Across 108 games with the side, they’ve averaged 1.5 points under him. Their last game was a home fixture against New England Revolution II at Icahn in which they lost 3-1. 16-year-old James Bilden scored their only goal when they were already down by three.
Pilkington has been alternating between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 lately and has been consistent in his starting XI picks as most sides are at this point in the season. Peter Molinari has played more league minutes (1,978) than anyone else in the team in 2025. Should he play, forward Seymour Reid is my player to watch for New York. The Jamaican has 11 goals in 14 games as well as 1 assist. He also has 12 appearances for NYCFC’s senior team in 2025, including eight MLS games. Will he be available for this game or be with NYCFC for their Hudson River Derby game on Saturday?
Reid, Drew Baiera, Sebastiano Musu, Jonathan Shore, Piero Elias, Máximo Carrizo, and Max Murray are all players who could appear on Sunday night at Icahn, who have played for the NYCFC senior team in MLS or US Open Cup games.
Captain Christopher Tiao has six senior international caps for Chinese Taipei. At youth level Shore, Baiera, Carizzo, Alex Rando, Prince Amponsah, Evan Lim, and Peter Molinari have all played for the USA. Elsewhere, there have been youth international caps for Jamaica (Reid) and Chile (Zidane Yáñez).
Chattanooga
Before their game at Atlanta United 2 was rained out on Wednesday, Chattanooga were 1-0 up. Daniel Managarov had scored the game’s only goal on 11 minutes, after an assist by Colin Thomas. Thomas later went off injured, so I am unsure about his fitness this weekend.
As we enter the ‘squeaky bum time’ phase of the regular season, Chattanooga Head Coach Chris Nugent needs to get the most out of his most essential performers. I believe these to be goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović, center-back pair Nathan Koehler and Farid Sar-Sar, right-back Tate Robertson, and winger Daniel Mangarov. I strongly expect these five to start.
Sar-Sar and Jakupović have played every minute of the season so far and hold the club lead in minutes played this season (2,322). Jakupović also has the league lead in saves (109) and clean sheets (9). He was excellent in their last home game against Carolina Core and in their postponed game at Atlanta on Wednesday. The Swiss international is in immense form and my player to watch for CFC.
Robertson has broken the single-season assists record in club history this season (10) holds both club leads for league goals scored (8) and assists (10). I expect left-back Milo Garvanian to play also. Beyond the six players mentioned above, it’s up in the air. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nugent rotate his three-man midfield and expect some variance up front too.
And as usual, as I gave an overview of the international experience at Carolina Core, it’s worth mentioning that Jakupović is a senior international with Switzerland, and that Mangarov and Turner have experience in the United States youth setup.
Analysis and Predictions
I’m going for a Chattanooga win in Randall’s Island this Sunday. They’re on a five-game winning run, have a strong away record, and are a better side than NYCFC on paper. Additionally, there’s every chance New York may have little to play for after Saturday’s results elsewhere. Remember also that few clubs in this league, if any, have more to gain from home advantage in the playoffs, as Chattanooga. I predict a 1-0 win for the visitors.
