'Concern has never been a thing' for St. Louis boss Damet

St. Louis City boss Yoann Damet insisted "concern has never been a thing" for him this season as his side prepare to take on the New York Red Bulls.

After a slow start to the 2026 campaign, St. Louis are now fifth in the Western Conference, and they could go level on points with second-place FC Dallas if they beat the Red Bulls.

St. Louis defeated Toronto FC 3-1 last time out, conceding deep into second-half stoppage time, while they have also reached the final of the U.S. Open Cup in recent weeks.

Damet's side are on an 18-game unbeaten run across all competitions, but the Frenchman believes his players have been threatening a run like this one all season. 

"I look at these guys and they have been the same since January," said Damet. "Concern has never been a thing.

"Focus and preparation has been a thing since the start of the year. I think every new day is a new day to get better and to prepare for our next game.

"I think those guys have been like that since day one, so this week has been no different.

"We know we have another big game in New York and everybody is excited and locked in preparing for that game."

NYRB, meanwhile, are eighth in the East after back-to-back 1-0 wins over the Columbus Crew and rivals New York City FC.

Julian Hall scored the lone goal in their win over NYCFC, the 18-year-old’s 10th goal of the season and fourth match-winner.

This match with St. Louis was scheduled to take place on Saturday, but was postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York Red Bulls – Cade Cowell

With top scorer Hall unavailable after being called up to the United States squad, Cowell will look to step up for NYRB.

The 22-year-old, who has scored twice in 2026, has six assists this term, with only Emil Forsberg registering more (seven).

St. Louis City – Simon Becher

Seven different St. Louis players have at least five goal contributions during the team's current 16-game unbeaten run, led by Becher's nine (seven goals, two assists).

Nine different St. Louis players have scored a match-winner in that time, with Tomas Totland (two) the only one with multiple (one own goal winner).

MATCH PREDICTION – ST. LOUIS CITY WIN

This will be St. Louis City's 148th match in all competitions and 130th in the regular season, but their first-ever match against the New York Red Bulls.

St. Louis extended their regular-season unbeaten run to 16 games (W11 D5) with a win over Toronto, equalling NYRB's 2016 run for the third-longest in a single regular season in MLS history.

The only longer single-season unbeaten runs in regular-season play in MLS history are 19 straight by Dallas in 2010 and 18 straight by the Crew in 2004.

NYRB have posted back-to-back wins for the third time this season with victories over Columbus and NYCFC. The Red Bulls have won three straight regular-season matches only once over the last three seasons, doing so in May 2025.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York Red Bulls – 27.3%

Draw – 22.7%

St. Louis City – 50%