The hosts are not resting on their laurels after their victory

Nick Cushing is looking forward to New York City FC’s upcoming home game against the San Jose Earthquakes on Friday and is asking fans to “create an atmosphere.”

NYCFC is on a four-game winning streak and beat derby rivals the New York Red Bulls 2-1 in its last outing at Citi Field.

This streak means they sit third in the Eastern Conference and are eight points behind leaders Inter Miami.

NYCFC has an opportunity to close the gap to second place while Cincinnati is out of action this weekend, and Cushing hopes fans can give the team an extra boost as it is trying to maintain its recent winning streak.

“I love playing in front of our fans,” Cushing said.

“I love playing at home. It’s the last game before a week off and an international break, and it’s Friday night under the lights.

“The Red Bull match was incredible because of the atmosphere, the crowd, the number of fans we had and the way we played.

“We just want to make sure that we deliver a performance every game that makes people want to come to the stadium. A performance that gets people excited and makes them want to make some noise and create an atmosphere.

“We encourage the fans to be really loud for us because it helps us. We want to keep adding wins. I’m excited and I want to make sure we start the game in a way that really makes us work together – ourselves and the fans – and then go for another victory.

San Jose, meanwhile, sits second in the Western Conference, eight points out of a playoff spot.

They haven’t won any of their last three outings, although their last victory came on the road when they beat Colorado Rapids 3-2 on May 12.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

NYCFC – Tayvon Gray

Gray recorded the assist on the game-winning goal in each of NYCFC’s last two matches.

This is the first time in his career that he has recorded an assist in consecutive MLS matches as he had only recorded one assist in his previous 33 matches dating back to September 2022.

San José earthquakes – Cristian Espinoza

Espinoza recorded his eighth assist of the season in San Jose’s draw against Austin on Saturday, setting up a goal for Jeremy Ebobisse.

Ebobisse is the seventh different player Espinoza has assisted on this season – the only player he has set up twice is Amahl Pellegrino.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK CITY FC VICTORY

New York City has won five of its six all-time meetings with the Earthquakes (D1), including the last four in a row. NYCFC has scored multiple goals in the five wins, including 10 times in their home games against the Quakes (all wins).

Indeed, NYCFC has won seven of its last eight matches (L1), including the last four in a row, and could tie the longest regular season winning streak in club history (five in a row in 2019).

Meanwhile, San Jose has won just two of its last 48 regular-season road games against Eastern Conference opponents (11 draws, 35 losses), dating back to May 2012. The Earthquakes have managed to draw each of their last three away matches against Eastern teams, including a 1-1 draw in Nashville in April.

PROBABILITY OF WINNING OPTA

NYCFC – 59.5%

Draw – 21.2%

Earthquakes in San Jose – 19.3%