The New York Red Bulls are closing in on a first place in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer as they return to action at Red Bull Arena on Saturday to host Toronto with kickoff at 2 am.
In recent weeks, the solid early-season form for the New York Red Bulls has turned a little stale. After winning their first five away fixtures, they have lost consecutive road matches while some regulars were away with injury or on international duty.
In last weekend’s match against North Carolina FC, the Red Bulls conceded late in each half as their winless streak extended to three games. It is rather odd to see them as inactive high up the field as we saw last weekend, when they managed just seven shots altogether, ending a run of 27 straight MLS affairs—including playoffs—in which the Red Bulls had fired 10 shots or more.
Before the international window, they managed to get an albatross off their back by convincingly winning at home, scoring four times in the second half to defeat DC United 4-1.
The Reds closed out a difficult month of May with a positive result, overcoming a lot of Chicago pressure in the second half to win for the first time in two months. Manager Bob Bradley talked about the resilience of this group after their victory, which he called “a little lucky.”
New York Red Bulls vs. Toronto Head to Head
Both sides have 36 games against each other, with hosts taking 18 wins while visitors with 9 wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Charlotte 2-0 NY Red Bulls
- NY Red Bulls 4-1 DC United
- NY Red Bulls 3-1 Charlotte
- Inter Miami 2-0 Red Bulls
Away
- Forge 1-1 Toronto
- Toronto 3-2 Chicago Fire
- HFX Wanderers 1-2 Toronto
- DC United 2-2 Toronto
NY Red Bulls Team News
Red Bulls center-back Aaron Long has been called up to the US national team for the Nations League and some international friendlies. Cristian Casseres is also out, Andres Reyes has a foot problem, Lucas Monzon and Serge Ngoma have hamstring issues, and Cameron Harper has a knee injury.
Toronto Team News
Osorio picked up a knock against Chicago and didn’t play for Canada in their Nations League group games against Curacao and Honduras. Quentin Westberg started his first match at BMO Field in place of Alex Bono, making seven saves to preserve their victory over Chicago.
Prediction and Odds
It will take more than a few weeks to fix Toronto FC’s defensive woes, so expect another long afternoon at Red Bull Arena, where the Reds have conceded plenty of goals in recent games.
- Home Win
- Goals Over 2.5
- Both Teams to Score
