Maxime Chanot will be available for NYCFC vs. Colorado. (Photo courtesy of MLS)

Depending on your point of view, New York City FC is either up or down entering Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against the Colorado Rapids at Yankee Stadium.

On the downside, the team is nursing a two-game winless streak.

On the upside, the side is coming off a well-deserved and hard-fought 2-2 draw at the Los Angeles Football Club.

“I think it’s important for us to try to get back to basics,” NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira said.

“I think we lost a little bit of our momentum and some of our simplicity in the game. We need to play together, to play better as a team. I think in the last few games it wasn’t the best, so it’s important for us to play again as a team when we’re in position.”

NYCFC (6-2-3, 23 points) enters the match tied with Columbus Crew SC (6-3-3, 21) for second place in the Eastern Conference.

Vieira will have a full complement of players from which to choose, including center back Maxime Chanot, who missed the LAFC match.

“It’s really important for me to have all of the players available for the game,” Vieira said. “We have to evaluate the players’ performances in the last game and in training and look at the best way to choose the XI to win the game.

“It will be a difficult one but what is really good is that they’re working well and competing against each other for a place in the team. That’s what I want from them.

“The team is feeling good after a really good performance against LAFC away from home. We’re looking forward to finally playing at home.”

The Rapids and former MetroStars goalkeeper Tim Howard enter the match 11th out of 12 teams in the Western Conference. Colorado has lost four consecutive matches, including a 2-1 home defeat to the Red Bulls last week. The visitors are 0-3-1 on the road.

Vieira, however, isn’t taking anything for granted.

“It’s a team [that is] really well organized,” he said. “A team that make it difficult to create chances, so we must respect the game, to move the ball quickly from one side to another and, most importantly, to play together as a team.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.