Red Bulls, NYCFC need to shake off the rust as the MLS playoffs are finally here

Red Bulls coach Sandro Schwarz and New York City FC coach Nick Cushing don’t expect to have to do much to get their respective squads ready for Saturday’s playoff edition of the Hudson River Derby.

Even after both teams have had somewhat long layoffs since defeating their opponents in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the two rivals should be ready for an intense showdown at Citi Field.

“We’ve got professional players here that if you can’t get yourself up to a semi-final against your rivals with a chance to go through then you’re playing the wrong sport,” Cushing said.

The Red Bulls toppled the no. 3-seed FC Cincinnati in two games of a best-of-three in the first round, while NYCFC took on defending MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew in three games.

But the Red Bulls’ quick series win and the international break mean they haven’t played in 20 days, and it will have been a full two weeks since NYCFC took the field for a competitive game when things kicked off at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday .

The break certainly dampened some of the momentum both teams had been feeling after their series wins over two favored teams in the East.

Cushing called the break “not ideal” when addressing reporters ahead of the Eastern Conference semifinals, but both coaches tried to use the downtime to their advantage. Cushing used the time for his players to get some rest and recovery, while Schwarz used it as a chance to prepare tactically for the upcoming game.

There won’t be too many surprises for either side given how familiar the New York teams are with each other, but City has the regular season edge this year after sweeping the Red Bulls.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t appear to be something players on either side expect to take into Saturday.

“I think when we play them in the playoffs, it will be a different game,” said Red Bulls defender Andres Reyes. “I think we will have a lot of emotions. This match can be one of the most important for us, so we have to be sharp.”

“I don’t think it matters who won before, who didn’t,” NYCFC defender Tayvon Gray added. “I think the focus is just on this one because this one counts. I can say I beat you five times before and then we beat you in the playoffs. So I think it’s just locking fixed, focus on the game and that’s it.

The previous two games couldn’t have been more different, with NYCFC taking on the Red Bulls, 2-1, in May and then blowing them out, 5-1, in September at Red Bull Arena.

Recent history has given City a head start on who will be the favorite going into the playoff clash – the first between New York’s two MLS clubs.

“If you look at the last round, especially Miami, Columbus, Cincinnati, all the way out, and if you looked before the playoffs started, they would have been the three favorites in the East,” NYCFC midfielder Justin Haak said. “And in these types of games, where one mistake or one good moment could change the whole game, it really doesn’t matter who the favorite is.”

There was some concern that one of the Red Bulls’ biggest offensive weapons, Lewis Morgan, could be out, but Schwarz confirmed on Thursday that he would be available.

Morgan, together with the national team’s Emil Forsberg, have proved to be decisive factors in the matches for the Red Bulls all season. Morgan is still looking for his first postseason goal this year, but Forsberg had a goal and an assist in the Red Bulls’ last win.

Saturday’s game will mark the second time a Hudson River Derby game has taken place at Citi Field, although the game will only have about 25,000 fans in the stands due to part of the Mets’ home being winterized for the offseason.

The Red Bulls have only played at Citi Field a second time, and defenseman John Tolkin told The Post that the quality of the field is “terrible.”

“But those are the circumstances both teams have to play in,” he said. “If we’re already going to make excuses about the field, then we’ve already lost. It’s certainly interesting to walk into a baseball stadium and see a football field there. … I don’t think too many guys are going to think about that, once the whistle blows.”

The baseball stadium is next door to the future home of NYCFC, which is expected to be completed in time for the 2027 MLS season.

No groundbreaking has happened yet, but a NYCFC spokesperson told The Post they expect to break ground by the end of the calendar year, and everything is still on track for the stadium to open in 2027.