New York Red Bulls visit Orlando City SC in the first of two nationally televised matches on Sunday.
New York Red Bulls limp into the match after a 4-1 thumping at the hands of Houston Dynamo.
Orlando City SC, meanwhile, retreats back to the safe confines of their new stadium after Columbus Crew dispatched the Lions 2-0.
New York Red Bulls
Aurelien Collin, Connor Lade and Fredrik Guldbransen are all available for this match. Once again, the squad looked out of sorts, but against a pretty good Houston team.
The implementation of the 4-2-2-2 has not gone over well. Coach Jesse Marsch has to move Sacha Kljestjan inside if he wants to get the best from his play-maker.
Outside of Dax McCarty, most of the starters returned this season, yet something is rotten in New York. It causes one to wonder, is it the players or the system?
Goals have not been forthcoming and beyond Bradley Wright-Phillips, who has two goals in five games, the Red Bull offense is struggling. Not being able to score against a weak RSL-side at home the week before illustrates this fact.
Panic is starting to set into the fan base. Was Dax the Kljestan whisperer?
Do the NYRBs need to bring in a name, such the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger on the Chicago Fire? And at what position?
New York Red Bulls Predicted Starting XI
RBNY Predicted Starting XI for #ORLvNYRB on April 9 pic.twitter.com/2ttj7O9mgl
— Spitting Fire (@FireEngine97) April 6, 2017
Orlando City
Still missing Kaka, who is nearing return, Orlando City SC fans were left to wonder the impact of their bench, last game.
Cristian Higuita, who subbed into the affair in hopes he could spark something, was largely invisible. All the same, the starters didn’t impress either. Carlos Rivas continues to be inconsistent. Cyle Larin lives off service, and if he doesn’t get his bread, this team starves for goals.
In this match with NYRB, Josh Sutter looks to nail down the right back spot. Will Johnson is expected to move into the central midfield, with his partner being Nocerino, who has impressed, of late.
Defender Jose Aja picked up a knock during last game, so look for his replacement to be Tommy Redding. He wasn’t exactly stellar coming in during the last match, but perhaps he will improve in this match, knowing he’s starting.
And finally, Luis Gil to Orlando City is official.
https://twitter.com/OrlandoCitySC/status/850331569801895939
Orlando City Predicted Starting XI
Orlando City Predicted Starting XI #OCSC #ORLvNYRB pic.twitter.com/CrXXQDCcK4
— Spitting Fire (@FireEngine97) April 6, 2017
Prediction
Orlando, despite going down to Columbus, were able to match them on possession. This is a positive for Orlando City’s Coach Jason Kreis, as possession is not usually the nature of their game. They also gave up less goals than Portland did against a pretty hot Crew offense, who played the Crew just a week before. Orlando have managed a strong start to the season and a win here against a faltering Red Bull team could go along way towards a future playoff push.
New York Red Bulls, meanwhile, are still trying to find themselves. Not the best road team, they’d be pleased to tie this game.
All things withstanding, I think Orlando maintains their unblemished home record.
Kickoff is at 4 PM EST.
How To Watch
New York and Orlando TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes
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Radio: New York: Red Bulls Radio Online Livestream \/
Orlando City: 104.1 FM (English), La Nueva 990 AM (Spanish) or La Granda 1030 AM