Pascal Jansen has been impressed with New York City FC's recent progress after a strong start to the MLS season, with the Colorado Rapids next up for them.

NYCFC currently sit top of the Eastern Conference on seven points after an unbeaten start to 2026.

Though they opened the campaign with a 1-1 draw at the LA Galaxy, they have since triumphed against the Philadelphia Union and Orlando City, a game which they won 5-0.

NYCFC have established themselves as the early pacesetters, but Jansen was quick to point out that there are still improvements to make.

"You can see we're improving again from where we started," he said. "We had a lot of work to do during preseason, and it's not quite finished yet.

"We keep on working in order to become a better team, but you can see the growth within the three matches that we played so far.

"It was very important [to win] the homecoming game and make sure the energy on the pitch connected with the fans, and we did that, which is a massive achievement."

The Colorado Rapids, meanwhile, have won their last two matches, bouncing back from their opening-week loss to the Seattle Sounders in style.

Colorado are fifth in the Western Conference, and defender Keegan Rosenberry is excited about what they can achieve under Matt Wells this season.

"It's exciting, just as much, I hope, for the fans as it is for us," he said.

"I think we're going to play a style that generates a lot of chances, so if we can execute those, I think we'll get the goals, and then it just comes down to keeping clean sheets, which is one of the places we've been disappointed in the past."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New York City FC – Maxi Moralez

With a goal and two assists on Saturday, Maxi Moralez recorded his sixth regular-season match with at least three goal contributions for New York City FC.

He has now surpassed David Villa (five) for the most such games by a player in club history.

Colorado Rapids – Darren Yapi

Darren Yapi (one goal, one assist) and Rafael Navarro (two goals) were involved in all four goals Colorado scored against the LA Galaxy on Saturday.

At least one of the two has been directly involved in 11 of the 19 goals the Rapids have scored in regular-season play dating back to last August.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK CITY FC WIN

Colorado earned their first-ever win over New York City FC the last time the sides met, a 2-0 home victory in May 2024.

However, NYCFC are unbeaten in three home matches against Colorado (W1 D2), with the last of those meetings having taken place in July 2019.

NYCFC's seven points through three matches are their second-best start to a season in club history after winning their first three games in 2018. Their 5-0 win over Orlando City on Saturday was their largest margin of victory in a regular-season match since defeating Real Salt Lake 6-0 in April 2022.

After losing their season opener at Seattle, Colorado have won two consecutive matches, including a 4-1 win over the LA Galaxy on Saturday. It has been nearly two years since the Rapids have won three straight games in all competitions, last doing so in June 2024.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New York City FC – 58.7%

Draw – 21.5%

Colorado Rapids – 19.8%