New York Red Bulls Race to 10 Wins: Early Performance Ticket to MLS Championship 1
May 6, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Union defender Oguchi Onyewu (5) kicks the ball pat New York Red Bulls midfielder Aaron Long (33) during the second half at Talen Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Red Bulls seek to gain three away points in Philadelphia after a huge USOC win against NYCFC.

Match Information:

  • June 18, 2017 @ 5pm
  • Talen Energy Stadium – Chester, PA

New York Red Bulls Form:

RBNY

  • 6W-2D-7L
  • LLDWL (last five)
  • 20pts (6th place)

Philly

  • 4W-4D-6L
  • WWWLL (last five)
  • 16 pts (10th place)

History vs. Philly

  • 11W-3D-6L
  • 4W-5L-2D (at Philly)
  • Philly won last meeting 3-0 on May 6th
The New York Red Bulls will head to Philadelphia on Sunday. This will be a rematch of RBNY’s earlier season matchup on May 6th when they lost 3-0. While Philadelphia sits in 10th place, RBNY cannot afford to let off the throttle.

Jesse Marsch stated in practice on Friday that, “I think there’s a big rivalry. Let’s call it what it is. I think we’re a bigger rival to them then they are to us and we have to understand that.”

In a span of 15 days, RBNY will have played four games against two of their biggest rivals. NYCFC is a natural rivalry due to geographic location. Philadelphia, on the other hand, are a relatively new rivalry considering the league as a whole. Some may consider DC United a bigger rivalry, but matches against Philly cannot be ignored.

In the last two U.S. Open Cups, the Union have knocked out RBNY. This year again the two sides will meet in the round of 16. To add to the competition the teams will be playing 10 days apart. The game on Sunday is MLS play, a rematch of an earlier season matchup where RBNY were disappointed.

Marsch also stated, “Last time I feel we controlled most of the game. We just couldn’t capitalize on any goals.” Reinforcing his belief, Marsch subtlety claimed, “we’ll be ready, we’ll be ready.”

This, of course, was in the middle of RBNY’s three-game losing streak in May. They were outscored by a goal difference of -7. Despite previous scoring issues, the 1-0 result against NYCFC showed RBNY’s ability to find the back of the net. The game was also filled with many opportunities as they outshot their third place opponents by eight.

Kemar Lawrence was reported sick on Friday after traveling to Jamaica. But Marsch explained that it should not result in his absence from Sunday night’s game. Connor Lade is expected to miss the match, but should be back in action soon.

In reference to the USOC regional structure and MLS season play, Marsch explains that it is a bit unconventional. He noted that if New England and RBNY both win their next round we will see again, another USOC/MLS dual matchup in a short time span. He described it as, “ridiculous.”

I believe many of us can agree that both USOC play and MLS regular season play is a bit redundant. While NYCFC’s USOC match saw just over 11,000 fans, the MLS season game on the 24th will surely see much more. Despite the mid-week/weekend play difference it is difficult to see the same match played twice in front of two different crowds.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, have been struggling this year. In their earlier matchup, RBNY were the favorites to win. However, Philly came away with the 3-0 victory.

For this match, I expect RBNY to come away victorious as they are on the up after their win against NYCFC. This could also be a stretch of games where we see RBNY hit their winning stride. Going into the last half of the season RBNY is notorious for win streaks. Quite possibly we could be witnessing the 2017 version which could land them in Supporter’s Shield position.

Game Prediction:

RBNY 2 – Philly 1

What do you think the score of the match will be?

Chris Sudol is a former college soccer player who now avidly supports the New York Red Bulls, Arsenal, and Barcelona, among many other soccer teams.