DC United- Red Bulls: Tailgate Edition (VIDEO)

Chances are that many of you have pre-gamed before a match and were stuck in that awkward situation where you were with people who clearly know more about a team than you. Don’t worry, your friends at MLS Multiplex are here to provide you with all of the information that you need to know before the match. In the words of Thomas Hobbes “Knowledge is Power.”

The I-95 derby. One of the oldest rivalries in North American soccer.  Although the Cascadia Cup has given MLS new life in recent years, it is the rivalry between DC United and the New York Red Bulls that is one of the cornerstone rivalries in the league.

This heated rivalry will be rekindled on Sunday as DC United (17-9-8, 59 points) take on the New York Red Bulls (13-10-11, 50 points) with both teams looking to get the edge in this two game playoff.

When: 4pm EST Sunday

Where: Red Bull Park Harrison, New Jersey

TV: Univision. The game will also be shown on CSN Washington in the D.C. area and on MSG in the New York Markets. If you live in Canada the match will be available on MLS Live.

Head-to-Head in 2014: DC United claimed the Atlantic Cup in 2014 over New York, winning 2 out of 3 matches.

In the first match in April,United midfielder Davy Arnaud hit an early strike to lift DC over New York.

In the rivals second match, DC United looked like a more confident squad on the attack, netting two late goals courtesy of Luis Silva (11 goals) and Eddie Johnson (seven goals) to clinch the derby in 2014.

New York were able to exact some measure of revenge in their lone match-up against DC at Red Bull Park in September. A Fabian Espindola red card and a late Loyd Sam goal gave the New York Red Bulls a late victory and a valuable three points in their playoff push.

While DC United lost the game at Red Bull Park this season, they have had some favorable results there and at Giants Stadium in the past. The two teams are tied with 13 wins each and 5 draws.

Head-to-Head in 2014: Despite DC United winning 2 of 3 matches this season, these games have been much closer than the scores indicate. DC was out-shot 37 to 21 by the Red Bulls in their two wins and were largely ineffective in their 1-0 loss.

The latter can be explained, given that DC lost Espindola early in the match and the club was putting ten men behind the ball. But New York should be given credit for putting in a strong effort in the other two matches.

New York was able to hold back the surging United offense largely through maintaining possession. Midfielder Dax McCarty held the ball for minutes at a time and not making dangerous passes. It was his pass into Loyd Sam that help set up the 1-0 win for the Red Bulls.

Although the DC United defense held up strong in that match they were a bit lucky that the score was only 1-0. Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips missed several quality chances in front of goal. The MLS single-season leading goal-scorer was able to find several pockets of space in the United box but just could not connect.

The question will be for New York is if Wright-Phillips can put on a similar performance like the one he had on Thursday, scoring two goals to lift his club over Sporting Kansas City.

Look for United center-back Steve Birnbaum to be tasked with defending Wright-Phillips. His partner, Bobby Boswell will likely have his hands full with midfielder Thierry Henry so expect the rookie out of Cal to be tasked with boxing out BWP.

If United are going to get any points in this match they will need to hit the Red Bulls young outside backs. Both Chris Duvall and Ambroise Oyongo were exposed in the 2-0 win at RFK Stadium with Silva being given ample space to maneuver. Without Silva, United will look to midfielder Chris Pontius to help set up Johnson and Espindola.

Watch out counter-attacks by DC United. New York, as evidenced by Dom Dwyer’s goal on Thursday, has been susceptible all season into making the transition from attack to defense. Johnson could play a pivotal role in getting a point in this match, much like he did with his chip shot in August.

Interesting stat to impress your friends with: In their four previous playoffs series against the Red Bulls (and formerly the MetroStars,) DC United have advanced all four times.

What is most interesting is that they have only lost once in the playoffs on the road against New York and that was 3-2 loss in a shootout back in 1996.

When DC United coach Ben Olsen opted to go on the road first, it was suspected that it was due to wanting to get the road match out of the way. But given their history perhaps they wanted to send a statement.

Prediction: DC United 1- New York Red Bulls 1