106 games of the Mets & Yankees Subway Series. 187 matches in what’s now the Battle of the Boroughs between the Knicks and Nets. 12 takes of the Jets and Giants taking the Shortest Road Trip In The NFL. 291 meetings between the Rangers and Islanders in the Battle of New York.

And now, our very first Hudson River Derby. (Or at least, that's what it seems everyone has agreed to call it.)

In the storied history of American sports, there’s one thing NYC has routinely brought to the table that few other cities can lay claim to: the local rivalry, with two teams in the same market battling for supremacy. We find ourselves at the start of another one, as the New York Red Bulls prepare to host the Bronx’s own NYCFC on Sunday.

There’s a special challenge in previewing the first meeting of two local teams: it’s not really a rivalry, yet. With no history between the teams, and no bad blood built yet, about all they’ve really traded is social media sniping among fan bases (more on that later). So to help you open wide for some regionally relevant soccer, let’s break down both teams along all the dimensions we can, both on and off the field.

MOST FAMOUS PLAYER: With World Cup winner David Villa on NYCFC, this is a pretty open and shut case. Villa has been struggling with injury, but he’s shown plenty of flashes of brilliance when he is on the field. Bradley Wright-Phillips may have tied the MLS goal scoring record last year, but he is still frequently confused in media reports for his brother, who’s currently struggling to get minutes at Queens Park Rangers. Advantage: Blue

REST OF THE ROSTER: The curse of being an MLS expansion side is that you have to piece your roster together from leftovers from other clubs. Up and down the NYCFC roster, you’ll find MLS journeymen (see Mehdi Ballouchy), raw-but-still-developing talent (see Kwadwo Poku), and random Europeans (see Pablo Alvarez). The Red Bulls don’t have to suffer similarly, with a blend of players that have largely been playing together for at least a season, with club veterans like Dax McCarty, Luis Robles, and Lloyd Sam filling key roles. Advantage: Red

COACH: Jason Kreis brought a storied pedigree to NYCFC after turning Real Salt Lake into a respected power (even if that status only yielded a single MLS Cup in 2009), but the results this year have been pretty dire and Kreis has acknowledged he’s losing sleep over it. Jesse Marsch first helmed an expansion side as well, dealing with the Montreal Impact's first MLS season in 2012, before clashing with ownership and leaving. But his system lead the Red Bulls to their best ever start to a season, even after a drama-filled off-season. Advantage: Push



MLS Eastern Conference standings on Saturday morning had the Red Bulls in third and NYCFC in eighth.

PERFORMANCE ON THE FIELD IN 2015: The Red Bulls started the year with a seven game unbeaten streak, suffering their first loss last weekend at New England. NYCFC is currently on a seven game winless streak, having only won a single game at home (against New England) and most recently getting thrashed 3-1 by Seattle. Beyond the record, the Red Bulls have been lauded for their high pressure, entertaining style, which has seen them score in every game this season. City’s offense has been shut out in four of nine games. Advantage: Red

OWNERSHIP GROUP: Pick your poison: Austrian energy drink company, or Abu Dhabi holding company plus the Yankees? Red Bull quickly trashed the Metrostars' history when they bought the club in 2006, only digging it back out over the last year when they realized that history might be useful against a new club. City Football Group talked about making this a “sister club” in their portfolio, but the Frank Lampard debacle sent a clear signal that NYCFC falls below their crown jewel, Manchester City. Advantage: No One



The South Ward and the Third Rail. (Rob Tringali/New York Red Bulls; Getty Images)

QUANTITY OF FANS: The MetroBulls may have been here for 20 years, but it’s the new club that has the fans coming out in droves. NYCFC announced over 16,000 season tickets sold in early April, while the Red Bulls are reportedly somewhere just under 10,000. Advantage: Blue



(Rob Tringali/New York Red Bulls; Getty Images)

STADIUM: NYCFC will have to cope for a number of years in Yankee Stadium, which is certainly a stadium where soccer can be played, but it’s far from a soccer stadium. Red Bull Arena’s only strike against it is that it’s in New Jersey. And while we get that Harrison is super far, we’ll take the actual stadium. Advantage: Red

RIVALRY TRASH TALK: The NYCFC fans have hit all the traditional taunts that Metro and Red Bull fans have shrugged off for 20 years. You play in New Jersey. Your team is named after an energy drink. Pink cows. 20 years, no cups. We will give note to the Third Rail's gonzo stance of demanding fealty from Red Bulls fans for leading them to the promised land of media validity and attention.

Reasons @NewYorkRedBulls fans should thank @NYCFC 3. The exponential rise in media and public attention you receive riding our coat tails. — The Third Rail (@ThirdRailSC) May 7, 2015

Meanwhile, Red Bulls fans have similarly been tossing the same insults that they’ve been lobbing at NYCFC fans for most of the last two years. Man City Lite. Where’s your Lampard? You’ve got no history. You play in a baseball stadium. Red Bulls fans remain generally offended that people are choosing to support a new club rather than the old one that they love and hate on alternating weeks.

RT this tweet if you like supporting your team in a soccer stadium, and not a baseball stadium #NYIsRed #RBNY — VikingArmySC (@VikingArmy_SC) May 7, 2015

Since it’s basically a push with the fans, we turn to the clubs themselves. The Red Bulls’ social team opted to start throwing jabs early in the week, referencing international mockery the Third Rail received and an unfortunately moment on the NYCFC bench:

We’d include NYCFC’s banter, but…there isn’t any. NYCFC intentionally decided not to play along, with a source telling Empire of Soccer: "[NYCFC] are not really looking to play this up and manufacture it as a rivalry - our supporters will develop rivalries organically.” Which is a noble but odd approach to take when one of the points of the club was to create a natural rivalry with the Red Bulls. Advantage: Red

LEGITIMACY OF CLAIM TO REPRESENTING NEW YORK: The Red Bulls, as with the MetroStars before them, have spent years failing to really make any play for the hearts and mind of the general NYC area sports fan. Sure, they’ve got dedicated supporters who will show off emotional scars if they let down their guard, and they've got history. But there are dedicated fans of everything in NYC, and what good is history if it never really mattered before?

NYCFC may get there - there have been countless declarations from blue fans that they have already locked up the city - but you’ve got to do more than just start playing to earn those rights. They're certainly the first club to play within the five boroughs since the heyday of the Cosmos, but their average 27,757 in home attendance through five games is behind the 30,201 the MetroStars achieved in the same span of games in 1996.

Until team gear becomes ubiquitous and widespread on the subway, until the sports media machine lurches to life with every word your coach says, and until the rest of the country starts picking your colors as the front runner’s team of choice, you’re not representing New York. Give it time. Advantage: Push

RELEVANT NYC SPORTS HISTORY: Let’s end on an interesting note. The Mets won the first inter-league game at Yankee Stadium 6-0 in 1997. The Nets edged the Knicks by a point, 104 to 103, the first time they met at the Garden in 1976. The Rangers took the Islanders 2-1 in Nassau for their inaugural clash in 1972. The Giants made the trek to Shea Stadium to take down the Jets 22-10 to start things in 1970. So note the history lesson: the away side usually draws first blood. Advantage: Blue

The Red Bulls host NYCFC Sunday night at 7PM. The game will be televised on Fox Sports 1. For live commentary and terrible observations during the match, follow Dan on Twitter.