With all eyes on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the New York Red Bulls are hoping to bounce back and pick up some crucial away points against a susceptible LA Galaxy.
The New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy are both coming off losses at home heading into Saturday’s clash. New York outshot Chicago Fire 22-4, but still fell 2-1, and L.A. failed to generate any real chances against a white-hot Atlanta side.
The Galaxy continue to deal with injuries, but they will have Giovani Dos Santos back and Zlatan Ibrahimovic ready to pounce on chances. And that is the primary threat that the Red Bulls will have to deal with.
Related Story: MLS: Week 8 Power Rankings
The 6-foot-5 striker will play his first game since being ruled out of Sweden’s World Cup Team on Wednesday. With plenty to prove, Ibrahimovic will be motivated to score and get his new side back on track. He was critical of the team’s performance after The Galaxy’s loss to Atlanta:
"“Today, we didn’t do well. Especially the first half, it was bad. We did too many simple mistakes, we watched the player instead of watching the ball, in the first half we were not organized. It was confusion in the game, second (half) was much better, but we chase, we chase and then we get one goal against us”"
After the Red Bulls’ first loss at home, their backline and midfield came back down to earth after their blistering open to the season. Aaron Long and Tim Parker will have their hands full dealing with the Scandinavian forward duo of Ola Kamara and Ibrahimovic. But, Parker is looking forward to the challenge:
"“I’m excited, to play against a player of his caliber and to see what he has already done in this league, it’s going to be big for me and Aaron to obviously keep him limited. I think like I said, we have to keep them in their own half, and get in their heads a little bit, we want to frustrate them and make sure they are not having an easy day”"
Stopping & Exploiting L.A Galaxy
If Galaxy coach, Sigi Schmid, plans to roll out his two star forwards, the Red Bulls will have a numerical edge in the midfield. They will potentially not have to face Jonathan Dos Santos, who suffered a calf injury before the game against Atlanta, and midfielder, Baggio Husidic. who replaced him against Atlanta, will likely start.
On the other hand, Giovani Dos Santos is available to play this Saturday. Dos Santos came on as a sub against Atlanta after missing the last four games due to a hamstring injury suffered against NYCFC. Dos Santos hopes to be part of Schmid’s plans,
"“You never want to get injured, but it’s been a good month to get stronger. I’ve been working really well,” . I feel very good and I hope that I can be involved in the next game.”"
With Dos Santos and the team still not in stride, Red Bull will likely press high in order to cut the supply line to their talented midfield and forwards.
Luckily for the Red Bulls, L.A’s defense continues to be leaky, much like their 2017 campaign. In the past four games at StubHub Center, L.A’s backline has allowed eight goals. And currently, New York is on a tear, outshooting their opponents 60 to 14 in just their past three games.
But despite that stat, the goals aren’t exactly pouring in. With L.A’s center back pairing of Daniel Steres and Jørgen Skjelvik struggling, and starting outside back Rolf Feltscher injured, the Red Bulls will have a great opportunity to turn chances into goals.
Red Bulls midfielder, Daniel Royer, was a key contributor to their success in 2017, but he is having a hard time finding the net this year, though, it is a good sign that he is getting into positions to score. He hit the woodwork twice in their 2-1 loss to Chicago, had a goal called back for offside, and leads the team in shots with 13 and 7 on-goal, but making the net ripple has been difficult.
With L.A coming into the game with a less than ideal back line and central midfield, pressing the backline will be key for success. Plenty of opportunities can fall to New York’s attack and Royer, who Jesse Marsch is not worried about in terms of production,
"“He’s right there. but the play doesn’t quite come off… it’s just clearing his mind and making sure that he knows he is not A) not just judged by goals, and the more he does all the little things right then the more the goals will come.”"
Next: USMNT and USWNT abroad: Pulisic, Press and others
On Wednesday, Daniel Royer signed a new multi-year MLS contract with the New York Red Bulls. It is an important development, securing a key player for the long-term future. But in the short-term, the focus for the Red Bulls rests on a rather larger Swede and his somewhat frightening goal-record.