New York Red Bulls take on San Jose Earthquakes at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening, in the latest round of MLS fixtures.
The hosts have had a difficult start to the season, currently sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference, while the visitors are faring better in the Western Conference, up in fifth after picking up 10 points from their first six games.
Match preview
© Reuters
NY Red Bulls had a relatively strong 2022 MLS campaign, finishing fourth in the table before being knocked out in the playoff quarter-final against FC Cincinnati, but they have so far failed to build on last season.
The Red Bulls have won just one of their opening six games, defeating Columbus Crew at the Red Bull Arena last month, while they drew their only other home game so far this season, playing out a 0-0 against Nashville SC.
Gerhard Struber's side are undefeated at the Red Bull Arena in the regular MLS season since way back in September, when they lost 2-0 against Philadelphia Union, having won three and drawn one of their last four matches, which bodes well heading into Saturday's game.
Another positive indication is that NY Red Bulls have won their last five matches against Saturday's opposition, while they have not lost at home against San Jose Earthquakes since way back in 2010.
Last time out, Struber's men lost 1-0 away at Atlanta United, failing to create any real chances throughout the match, having just two shots on target, and a much-improved performance will be needed to get anything from the game this weekend.
© Reuters
San Jose Earthquakes may have a very poor record against NY Red Bulls, but there have been very promising signs in their opening six games, indicating they could bring the run of losses to an end.
The Quakes are comfortably inside the playoff places, having won three of their first six matches, defeating the likes of Vancouver Whitecaps, Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo.
However, all three of those victories have been at home ground PayPal Park, with Luchi Gonzalez's side picking up just one point from their three matches on the road, while they were on the receiving end of a heavy 3-0 defeat at St Louis City in their last away trip.
Since that disappointing defeat, the Quakes have returned to form, most recently emerging 2-1 victors against Houston Dynamo at home, with Cristian Espinoza scoring two goals from the penalty spot, taking his tally to three for the season.
Team News
© Reuters
New York Red Bulls will be without attacking midfielder Lewis Morgan, who has missed the last three games through injury, so Cristian Casseres is the likely choice in the number 10 role, in what should be a 4-2-3-1 system.
Having failed to score in their last match, Struber may change things up in attack, especially considering Cory Burke is without a goal in his first five league games this season, so Elias Manoel could get the nod at striker.
San Jose Earthquakes have a number of injury concerns to deal with, and new signing Daniel is set to miss out for another few weeks due to a knee injury, with JT Marcinkowski poised to start between the sticks, having played the last four matches.
17-year-old Niko Tsakiris had a breakthrough 2022 season, playing 10 first-team games, but he will not be available in midfield, while Carlos Gruezo is also a doubt, having missed the last two matches.
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Carlos; Duncan, Nealis, Reyes, Harper; Stroud, Amaya, Fernandez, Casseres, Luquinhas; Manoel
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Marcinkowski; Akapo, Mensah, Rodrigues, Marie; Espinoza, Yueill, Judson, Monteiro; Cowell, Ebobisse
We say: New York Red Bulls 1-0 San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes may have made a decent start to the season, but it is still early days, and their terrible record at the Red Bull Arena cannot be ignored.
As such, we expect the hosts to eke out a narrow 1-0 victory, which could act as a catalyst to kick-start their season after a very slow start.
How to watch
You can watch New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
