The stakes could not get much higher for a regular season game in Major League Soccer (MLS) than Saturday night, when the New York Red Bulls host Real Salt Lake at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ at 7 PM.
MSG Network will have the TV coverage in the New York / NJ metro market, and believe it or not, the local ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City will be airing this match live for that market and their loyal fans.
Background
The Red Bulls enter the match in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference tied with the Montreal Impact with 32 points (www.mlssoccer.com). The last game played by New York was on July 20th which ended as a 0-0 tie in Toronto.
The Red Bulls have allowed 0 goals in their last two games and they trail Sporting Kansas City for first place in the East by 4 points (www.mlssoccer.com).
Real Salt Lake (RSL) enters this match as the top team, not only in the Western Conference, but the top team in the league with 37 points. They hold the lead in what is known as the Supporters Shield which is the name of the honor given by MLS to the team with the best overall regular season record (www.mlssoccer.com).
The team from Utah is a powerhouse team with a record of 11 wins 6 losses and 4 ties. The match on Saturday night will be the only regular season meeting between the two teams this season.
The two teams met last season in Utah in the second game of the season in March 2012, and RSL defeated the Red Bulls by a score of 2-0 (www.nbcsports.com). The all time head-to-head record for the meetings of these two teams has New York with a record of 3 wins, 5 losses, and 7 ties. The Red Bulls have won all three of those games in the series at home against RSL, the information on the records was provided by MLS archives on their website.
A Fan’s Perspective
My perspective as a fan that watches the Red Bulls frequently is one of excitement and cautious optimism for this big match. New York plays really well at home in front of their dedicated fans at the Red Bull Arena.
The Red Bulls are coming off a disappointing result to Toronto FC where they could not score a goal against a team which is one of the worst defensive teams in the MLS. So they need this game as a “bounce back game” or as former NFL legend and soon to be Hall of Famer, Warren Sapp, would call it a “get right game”.
Red Bulls head coach, Mike Petke, will have his team prepared well for this match. He knows RSL coach Jason Kreis very well as they are contemporaries having played in MLS during the same period of time, and then moved into coaching immediately after their playing days ended.
I have seen Real Salt Lake play a few times here and there this season, and have read the news coverage around them throughout the season. The team was my preseason pick to win the MLS Cup championship this year. My prediction looks pretty solid right now.
RSL is a very talented team with incredible depth. They will need it on Saturday night because, in another key reason why I like New York to win this game, RSL will be travelling east very short handed.
Beckerman, Beltran, and Rimando (their starting goalkeeper) will all miss this game because they will be playing for Team USA in the international tournament called the Gold Cup (www.nbcsports.com).
Then, Saunders (their backup goalie), Salcedo, Schuler, and three other role players are out for this game due to injury. Finally, Chris Wingert, who is a key player for their side, is suspended due to his total of yellow cards for rough play (www.mlssoccer.com).
Analysis
In watching Real Salt Lake play, and having played soccer myself and with my tactical knowledge of the sport; I have observed some things about their approach and strategy. They are very well organized, they play excellent defense, and can be very well disciplined.
They tend to stay pretty narrow through the midfield, using shorter, more precise passes to transition into the attacking third of the field. They have very talented forwards, notably Robbie Findley, Olmes Garcia, and Joao Plata. That trio is very dangerous and the Red Bulls need to be prepared defensively to combat their attack.
In the midfield, they have in my opinion, their most talented player in Javier Morales. Morales is a dynamic playmaker and passer, who can also put shots on goal with great accuracy. He is a very difficult player to defend, and the Red Bulls are going to have to determine their best man to defend him pretty early on in this game.
Their fullbacks also have a tendency to slide up into attack position, particularly their outside fullbacks, which can create problems for their opponents. However, I think New York has the personnel to counter this element of their attack.
The big wild card in this game is Jeff Attinella, he is their number 3 goalie, but because of the injuries and the players missing from the Gold Cup, he will start in goal for RSL on Saturday night. He has very limited experience, and I think the Red Bulls can capitalize on that inexperience to win this match.
The Red Bulls looked very tight when I saw them play against Montreal on July 13. The offense looked incredibly crisp, and defensively they played very well and had excellent structure in that game against an outstanding offensive opponent.
The key players for the Red Bulls are: Fabian Espindola, Tim Cahill, Thierry Henry, Dax McCarty, Jamison Olave, and their goalie Luis Robles.
McCarty makes that list because he may have to mark up and defend Morales. Espindola is playing against his former team, having spent many years with RSL, it will be his first game as well as Olave’s first game against their former teammates since the offseason trade which landed them both in New York.
Olave looked solid to me in the Montreal game, he was all over the defensive third of the field making plays on the ball. The play of Robles too was very impressive, he was very good at protecting the goal, particularly on corner kicks. He will be tested early and often by RSL in this game.
Tim Cahill should be able to make some plays through the midfield to transition the Red Bulls in this game, and I think Henry is determined to have a great performance against RSL, who he has always respected. If you remember, it was Henry that really engineered that trade for Espindola and Olave because he liked the RSL style of play and wanted those guys with him in New York.
Henry and Espindola both being “on their game” in this match could be too much for a shorthanded RSL side to handle.
Prediction
I think the Red Bulls win this match by a score of 3-1. I like that they have the home field advantage, a more talented group of 11, and RSL has an inexperienced goalkeeper. It should be a great match, which could be a championship game preview. I look forward to watching on Saturday night, and reviewing it next week. My favorite team, the Red Bulls against the best team in Real Salt Lake. This is MLS soccer at its best.