Seattle Sounders vs NY Red Bulls: Preview and How to Watch

The NY Red Bulls visit Seattle while the Sounders hope to get their first win of the year, with the Red Bulls hope to keep their winning streak alive.

In the two teams only meeting in 2016, the New York Red Bulls pulled out a 2-0 win at home against Seattle. This was during the Sounders not so pretty start to the 2016 season, they were at the time in ninth place in the Western Conference while the Red Bulls were tied for 2nd in the East. Right now the Sounders are in 7th place, right below the line, and the Red Bulls are first in the Eastern Conference.

The New York Red Bulls have won their first two games this season, 2-1 in Atlanta and 1-0 at home against the Colorado Rapid, and have 6 points. The Sounders have one point that came from a 2-2 draw in Montreal on a 94+4 minute goal. They lost their first game in Houston 2-1.

New York Red Bulls

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The Red Bulls have a deadly front line and midfield. Last week against the Rapids, they played extremely well against one of the best defenses in the league. If the Red Bulls do what they did last week, the Sounders will need to stop their ball movement and shut down their big players. New York will push forward early and will continue to late in the match.

Gonzalo Veron has missed the Red Bull’s first two MLS games with a hamstring injury and will probably be out for Sunday’s game considering that it’ll be played on turf. Over 4 games, goalkeeper Luis Robles has a 1.00 goals against average versus Seattle and New York has scored 15 goals against Seattle. They have also given up 15 goals against the Sounders.

The Red Bulls recently trained at the New York Jets’ Atlantic Health Jets Training Center to work on the turf in preparation for CenturyLink Field’s surface.

Seattle Sounders

In 2009, the Seattle Sounders beat the Red Bulls 3-0 in their inaugural MLS game. Sunday they will be looking for a similar result in their 9th home opener. It won’t be easy, they’ll have to do so without defender Roman Torres. Torres was suspended for Sunday’s match by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for kicking Ambroise Oyongo of Montreal in last weeks game. Tony Alfaro or Gustav Svensson will most likely fill in as center back next to Chad Marshall. This will be a key absence as they try to shut down Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips.

The Sounders will rely heavily on their championship winning offense with the addition of Clint Dempsey and Will Bruin. Jordan Morris, Clint Dempsey and Nico Lodeiro against New York’s front line will be great to watch. 21 year old Crisitan Roldan will match up with Sacha Kljestan, 10 years to his senor, and Ozzie Alonso will help with the pressure from New York.

The Sounders will unveil their championship banner in CenturyLink Field following a week of celebrations, including a Men In Blazers Live Show in Seattle.

Next: MLS Power Rankings: Week 2

Prediction

Since 2014, the two teams only have a difference of 9 points (NY with 173; Seattle with 164). The Sounders fans will be out in full force, the game is following a week of championship celebrations and is the Sounders home opener. The Seattle Sounders are great at home and are looking for their first win. New York will want to continue their win streak and keep up a good road record. It’ll be exciting but will eventually end with Seattle scoring a late goal to tie or win.

Where to Watch

When: Sunday, March 19, 7:00 pm kickoff (EST)

Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington

Television: FS1, the game can be streamed on Fox Sports Go

Radio: KIRO Radio 97.3 and El Rey 1360AM (Spanish) in Seattle and New York Red Bulls Radio English in New York.

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