3 positive predictions for NYCFC in the 2026 MLS season | OneFootball

2025 was a decent year for New York City FC.  Pascal Jansen led the team to a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and subsequently led his players to the Eastern Conference Finals in the MLS Cup Playoffs.  The Boys in Blue had their stars like Matt Freese and Alonso Martínez perform at a top level, and then Maxi Moralez started every Major League Soccer match despite being the oldest player on the team.

More importantly, NYCFC looked better compared to the previous couple of seasons under Nick Cushing.  Therefore, there is excitement about the upcoming campaign.  Not only does Jansen have a full year under his belt, but the majority of the squad is back.  Sure, there are concerns regarding the scoring since Martínez will miss most or all of the season due to his ACL tear that he suffered while with Costa Rica on international duty.  But the team is still strong; the club just needs to figure out the striker situation.

Plus, NYCFC should be okay despite Justin Haak’s departure and Andrés Perea’s injury.  Raul Gustavo and Kai Trewin can partner with Thiago Martins as a center-back, and then Aiden O’Neill, Keaton Parks, Jonathan Shore, and Trewin can play as the defensive midfielders.  There might be some adjustments, but ideally, the team should be okay after the first few games in the MLS season.

Meanwhile, as the season gets closer, for it is less than a week away, there are always predictions to be made.  As such, here are three predictions for NYCFC’s 2026 season.

3 predictions for NYCFC

3. NYCFC will finish the regular season in 3rd or 4th place

Last year, it was predicted that NYCFC would finish the season anywhere from fourth to sixth place.  As is known, the Pigeons ended the year in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.  It was a tight finish, with fourth through ninth place separated by a mere three points.

If fans watched every single game last year, then they know that the Pigeons had an odd season, with them winning games they were not expected to and losing others that they should have won on paper.  A few of those losses were due to silly mistakes, and one or two more wins would have guaranteed a fourth-place finish.  Still, the prediction was correct.

That is why this year, it is time to narrow down the prediction of where NYCFC will end the regular season.  The Bronx side will finish in third or fourth place, and this is despite being without an established striker to begin the year.

Some might be concerned about the preseason, but the results never define whether a team will do well.  Plus, with the expectations increasing in Jansen’s second year in charge, winning a few more matches and finishing higher than fifth place is a logical expectation from the fans.

The idea that the team will not finish higher has to do with the competitiveness in the Eastern Conference and the fact that the Boys in Blue can have slow starts to a season.  There is also the belief that more of the younger Homegrown players will see an increase in minutes, and that could lead to rookie mistakes.  Hence, a few matches might be due to that.

However, NYCFC will hopefully suffer fewer losses and turn those losses from last year into draws or wins.  They will also stay competitive once the early-season rustiness is gone and a scoring center-forward is signed.

2. Malachi Jones will play in 2026

If there is one player who has had a rough start to his professional career, then Malachi Jones comes to mind for NYCFC fans.  The winger showed potential early on in the 2024 season, but suffered an awful leg fracture that saw him miss the rest of the year.

Then, it was thought that he would return in 2025, but setbacks led to another surgery and eventually another season-ending injury designation.  It has been nothing but bad luck, and sometimes, the beautiful game can be very ugly.

At the same time, it offers hope.  That is why it is predicted that Jones will return to NYCFC in 2026.  He is thankfully training, but still appears to be a ways away from returning to the pitch in a match.  It will take time to redevelop the proper game-day conditioning.  More importantly, the club must and will be careful with handling his return.  Nobody wants any setbacks.

Jones’ potential is still there, too.  His injury might have set back his development, but that does not mean he cannot get back to the player he was becoming before the injury.

Still, 2026 should be about Jones returning and playing a little bit.  2027 can be the year NYCFC gets him back to where he should be, and maybe the team will turn him into a young star.

1. NYCFC will get back on track at home

Yankee Stadium and Citi Field tend to be a fortress for the most part for the Boys in Blue.  For many years, when the team was a playoff side, they rarely lost at home.  But that was not the case in 2025, for NYCFC lost six times at home.  Four of those six losses occurred at Yankee Stadium, their main home since 2015.

These losses were extremely uncharacteristic for the Pigeons during a season in which they were competitive.  It was almost like they traded away home losses for some road wins.  Of course, that is not the case, despite the feeling.

Nevertheless, 2026 will be different.  That is why the prediction is that NYCFC will get back on track in the upcoming campaign and lose fewer games at home.  This will be the final full season playing at the baseball stadiums, and the team will want to end the year putting on a show every time they take the pitch at home.

Moreover, NYCFC does not want to end their time at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field with multiple losses.  It could set a rough tone as the Bronx side moves permanently to Queens in 2027.  Of course, it is possible the move will not happen until the summer, as there will be a shorter season in the spring to help MLS move toward the summer-to-spring schedule.  Regardless, this will be the last 34-game season that the team plays in a place that is not their own.

That is why it is vital that NYCFC does not continue the trend of losing at home at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.  Let’s hope that this changes and that the prediction becomes 100% true.