It’s been a fantastic start to the MLS season for New York City FC who sit top of the Eastern Conference after nine games played. The boys in blue have begun the campaign in swashbuckling fashion and have given their fans plenty of smile about so far. It’s still early days and there are a number of difficult games to come but many supporters genuinely believe this side is organised enough to potentially remain unbeaten at the Yankee Stadium in 2018.
Patrick Vieira deserves a huge amount of credit for the club’s tremendous start and the former Arsenal midfielder spent the off-season carefully strengthening his squad and working on mentality. The club are no longer solely reliant on the goals of David Villa. The iconic frontman is still heavily involved and recently scored his 400th career goal during the club’s 3-1 win against FC Dallas but he doesn’t play every single game and if the Spaniard is out injured, there are other players who can step up to the plate.
As a result of their excellent start, they have been installed as the joint 5/1 second favorites for the MLS Cup this season with current holders Toronto FC priced at 11/1, owing to their underwhelming performances in recent weeks.
Vieira appears to be enjoying life in the dugout and his success at NYCFC has seen him linked with the Arsenal job. The Premier League side announced that long-serving coach Arsene Wenger is set to leave at the end of the season and the former midfielder’s name has been mentioned as a potential successor. He was part of the “Invincibles” who remained unbeaten throughout the entire 2003-04 Premier League season and is still revered by Gunners fans for his no-nonsense approach to games. Luckily for New York City FC supporters, former Liverpool assistant manager Zeljko Buvac has become an unexpected frontrunner for the role and there are a number of free football betting tips which relate to this market including 3/1 on the aforementioned Buvac to take the job as well as 5/2 on Max Allegri to swap Turin for North London.
They’ve played just four home matches so far but they’ve only conceded twice and kept a clean sheet against an Orlando City outfit who sit just four points behind them in the table and have won five matches on the bounce since that defeat.
There is a noticeable togetherness about the squad and players like Anton Tinnerholm have become above-average performers under Vieira’s tutelage. The Swedish defender has been a revelation since joining the club from Malmo and has quickly established himself as a fans favorite. He isn’t known for his goalscoring exploits but has already netted some memorable goals for his new employers and he is clearly brimming with confidence.
NYCFC have some difficult home matches to come and facing Atlanta United at the beginning of June will be a significant test of the club’s credentials. If they can edge past their free-scoring Eastern Conference rivals, remaining unbeaten at home is a real possibility. They are scoring goals and keeping clean sheets and the Yankee Stadium is a truly formidable place for visiting MLS sides and very few teams are likely to leave the Bronx with any points this season.