Emil Forsberg has praised the New York Red Bulls' confident attacking threat ahead of their game against Orlando City on Saturday.
The Red Bulls currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, only behind city rivals New York City FC due to having one less win than them this season.
They bounced back in style from their derby defeat to NYCFC in midweek, beating Charlotte FC 3-1 with an impressive second-half performance.
Forsberg was full of praise for the way his team play, particularly in the final third.
"When we play with tempo, it's hard to get us," he said. "And I think that's the most important thing - to play with confidence.
"When we are straightforward, that's key for us. When we win the ball, we put those hard passes forward and go with everybody."
Orlando City, meanwhile, sit eight points below them in 11th after winning just one of their last four matches.
While they only drew with Chicago Fire on Wednesday, they did end a run of three games without hitting the back of the net.
Oscar Pareja reiterated the Lions’s need to improve if they want to reach the final series.
He said: "It's important that we can keep our minds calm and see the things that we need to get better. We take [the draw against Chicago Fire] and look to improve against New York."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York Red Bulls – Emil Forsberg
Forsberg scored goals one minute and 45 seconds apart in the Red Bulls' win on Wednesday. It was the fastest two goals by a Red Bulls player since Daniel Royer scored one minute and 43 seconds apart against Seattle Sounders in July 2017.
Orlando City – Facundo Torres
Torres has scored four goals against the Red Bulls in regular-season play, tied for his most against any opponent along with Chicago Fire, whom he scored against on Wednesday.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN
The Red Bulls have not lost any of their last nine MLS home matches (W6 D3, incl. playoffs) dating back to last October. New York has not had a longer home unbeaten run in MLS play (incl. playoffs) since a 14-game streak in April-October 2016.
However, Orlando are unbeaten in five matches against the Red Bulls in all competitions (W4 D1) after having never gone more than two in a row without a loss against New York before.
Orlando have lost only six of their 24 regular-season away matches since the start of last season, including going unbeaten in five straight on the road. Only FC Cincinnati (four) have fewer road losses since the start of last season than the Lions (tied with Real Salt Lake).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New York Red Bulls – 51.3%
Draw – 24.7%
Orlando City – 23.9%