'Everything to play for': Bradley rallies Red Bulls for first-ever meeting with San Diego in playoff push

New York Red Bulls head coach Michael Bradley has insisted his side still have "everything to play for" in the race for the MLS Cup Playoffs ahead of Saturday's first-ever competitive meeting with San Diego FC.

The Red Bulls sit eighth in the Eastern Conference with seven regular-season games remaining, just one point behind seventh-placed Orlando City — though two teams are lurking directly behind them on goal difference. Their visitors this weekend have even more work to do: San Diego are 12th in the Western Conference and four points adrift of the wild-card places, making Saturday's clash a high-stakes affair for both sides.

Bradley refused to press the alarm button after last week's 3-0 defeat to St. Louis City, a match in which his team had to cope without their internationally capped players. That loss came on the back of a pair of hard-fought 1-0 wins over the Columbus Crew and New York City FC — results that prompted Bradley, in late September, to hail "signs of a real team" in his squad.

Now he wants that collective character to resurface with the season on the line.

"There's still everything to play for and everything is still in our hands," Bradley told reporters. "There are a lot of big games to come, so, like we always do, we'll look at it and make sure that we find the right ways to improve and make sure we're ready for San Diego."

The Red Bulls boss has made mentality a central theme of his messaging as the fixtures grow in importance.

"We talk a lot as a group about our football and our mentality, where we are in the season, and what we need to do to be a team where, when the games get really big, we can be at our best," he said.

And he insists his players have responded without complaint to the disruption of the international window.

"The last thing we're ever going to do is make excuses. And I'll give the team credit because nobody has batted an eye," Bradley added. "We'll get some of our international players back and then be ready to really go after it over the last seven games."

San Diego's slump

San Diego head into the weekend desperate to arrest their own decline. They went into the international break with a 3-3 draw against Austin FC — a game they led 3-0 — which extended their run to five straight matches without a win (D2 L3).

In blowing that three-goal lead, San Diego became the third team this season to surrender a three-goal advantage in MLS play, after Sporting Kansas City and Inter Miami. Curiously, though, they were the first of the three to avoid losing the game.

Players to watch

Ethan Horvath (New York Red Bulls)

Goalkeeper Horvath is the only Red Bulls player to have played every minute of every game this season, logging 2,430 minutes — his highest total since 2022-23, when he tallied 4,260 minutes in the Championship for Luton Town. He has been successful with all 25 of his sweeper-keeper attempts this season, tied with Toronto FC's Luka Gavran for the most in MLS.

Anibal Godoy (San Diego FC)

Godoy was near-flawless in possession in San Diego's most recent outing, completing 100 of his 105 passes (95.2%) against Austin FC. He has been especially accurate in the opposing half, passing at a 90.2% clip across the past two regular seasons — the second-best figure in MLS among players to have attempted more than 1,000 passes in the opponent's half.

What the numbers say

This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between the two clubs, and both arrive looking to bounce back from disappointing results. The Red Bulls have won only two of their last six league games (D1 L3) since their 3-0 defeat to St. Louis City on September 30, while San Diego are winless in five.

Opta's win probability model makes the Red Bulls narrow favorites at 38.3%, with San Diego at 35.3% and the draw at 26.4% — but with both sides short on form and desperate for points, a tight, nervy contest looks the most likely outcome.