The New York Red Bulls (6-4-2) finish off their consecutive Eastern Conference clashes with a trip north up I-95 to take on the struggling New England Revolution (2-4-3). The Red Bulls look to take nine points out of three games in a week and look to extend their winning streak to five games in the meantime.
Both New York and New England are coming off midweek matches at home. The Red Bulls won their top of the East clash against the Montreal Impact, 2-1, off a sensational Thierry Henry brace. Luis Robles was due for another error and followed through, allowing Montreal to cut the lead in half in stoppage time and almost saw the game equalized except for a dubious offside call. New England lost to Western Conference powerhouse RSL, 2-1, after being up 1-0 until the 77th minute. The Revs did their best TFC impersonation as they gave up the lead heading into stoppage time. They received a penalty in stoppage time but Nick Rimando saved Saer Sene’s attempt.
This is the second meeting between the teams as they met back on April 20th in Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls won the match 4-1, scoring all five goals as Brandon Barklage had an own goal. In a game that looked dominated by the Red Bulls, New England always seemed to be in it, despite the scoreline. Three of their seven attempts on goal were on target, forcing Robles to make the save. They almost had as many open play crosses as NY did, with the better share of possession and almost 50 more passes attempted.
The stat lines have been pretty much the same for Jay Heaps and the Revs but they just can’t seem to get it done in the final third. New England has only scored five goals in nine games, three of them coming at home. New England has also given up only eight goals, three at home, in nine games with four of them coming against the Red Bulls on April 20th. New York comes in with 18 goals scored, 10 on the road, and 14 goals conceded.
Mike Petke told reporters after Friday’s practice that some players will be kept out of the 18 but would not say it was from Gillette’s turf field. Petke cited the Red Bulls schedule since MLS kicked off, with the Red Bulls playing the most games of any team, especially their second three game week they are currently in. Petke wanted to rest Fabian Espindola against Montreal but Peguy Luyindula went down with another hamstring injury, forcing Espindola into the match. Others who will see rest will probably be Thierry Henry, Jamison Olave, and Juninho. Petke still has options with the likes of Brandon Barklage, Connor Lade, and Roy Miller who can play as an outside back or in the midfield. However, it remains to be known whether Armando Moreno or Andre Akpan will get the start next to Espindola up top. Without Juninho and with Dax only making the bench to start, Tim Cahill and Eric Alexander look to be set to start alongside one another in the midfield, just as they did against Columbus.
New England does have the players to be creative and dangerous in the final third. With the likes of Lee Nguyen, Saer Sene, Jerry Bengston, and Juan Toja, the Revs are not a team you can sit back, defend, and give possession to. The Revs did also just acquire former Red Bull academy product Juan Agudelo from Chivas USA. Agudelo has been injured of late but Jay Heaps did not rule out Agudelo making the 18 against the Red Bulls.
Can the Red Bulls break their curse at Gillette finally? If they do, they’ll have to do it without their big name players. However, another win against an eastern conference foe will be crucial in the standings for NY. Not having an off week for a little under a month, NY needs to keep grinding out results in any possible way. The Red Bulls and Revolution kick off at 7:30pm Eastern on Saturday.
(image courtesy of newyorkredbulls.com)
