Is it just me, or did that feel like a really short off season? It feels like only yesterday the New York Red Bulls were bounced from the Conference Final for the second straight year. While there are plenty of new faces, this year, they are mostly younger faces. That is to say, that the changes in the interim were aligned with the message that has been repeatedly touted by New York’s front office. Suffice to say, “This ain’t your daddy’s Red Bulls.” While the majority of the starting XI remains unchanged, there are some key additions and subtractions that need to be looked at, along with a possible shift in formation and personnel up front. Anyway, let me start by saying welcome back. Now let’s get down to business.
New York Red Bulls v. Toronto FC – What To Watch
The Red Bulls rarely strayed from the 4-2-3-1 last year, and to great effect. Over the course of the season, though, some real problems emerged with it, especially against teams that wanted to bunker. Over the winter, Jesse Marsch and co. went back to the drawing board to find some answers, a plan B. As preseason finished up last week, it seems that plan B might be moving closer to becoming plan A though it is doubtful you will see it in full effect while Gonzalo Veron is on the sidelines.
Speaking of Veron, he had a killer preseason, scoring 3 in the preseason finale against Jacksonville Armada and combining very well the Bradley Wright-Phillips as a second forward. That is the crux of this new formation. Veron comes in a bit more centrally, and Kljestan slides a bit out wide. The results have been very apparent thus far, but we haven’t seen the full XI deliver a performance against an MLS side for 90 just yet. What I think we will see this weekend will be very close to the XI that finished the season last year, with Gideon Baah replacing the departed Matt Miazga.
The biggest challenge this weekend will be putting Toronto on their back foot early and often. It is something the Red Bulls did well all last year, relying on stellar play at the back during system failures. When Toronto last visited Red Bull Arena, Matt Miazga nearly single-handedly shut down Sebastian Giovinco. Gideon Baah will be charged with tracking the diminutive goalscorer in all likelihood, although I could see Jesse Marsch maybe leaning a bit on the physicality of Ronald Zubar to take Giovinco out of his comfort zone, much like he was used against the Impact towards the end of last season.
The crux of the battle though must be fought higher up the field. There will be a huge onus for the midfield trio to boss the game. Toronto’s revamped lineup likely still needs time to gel, but if they click they will be very dangerous. Keeping things clogged and the TFC midfield out of rhythm is key. The other thing to keep in mind is that teams that were most successful against NY last year used similar tactics to NY. High press and physicality have put the Red Bulls out of sorts, and the likes of Michael Bradley and Will Johnson are certainly capable of delivering. Long story short, if the Red Bulls are going to run out the same formation as last year, they could be prone to the same issues they had last year when things did not click. It will be up to TFC to dictate which NY team they will face.
Expectations are unusually high for this club, and that is to be expected after the strong finish to last season that saw the Red Bulls win their second major trophy in three years. What we see from the early going might not be what Red Bull fans will be expecting. Keep in mind that their two best center backs from last season are out, and with the 4-2-2-2 looking like the way to the future, that system will not work without Gonzalo Veron. So a word of caution, and patience, for the Red Bull’s faithful. They will likely not have the fast start they did last year, but this is a strong group that will make a run for the cup.
Red Bulls Projected XI
Robles, Zizzo, Zubar, Baah, Lawrence, Felipe, McCarty, Kljestan, Sam, Grella, Wright-Phillips
