PREVIEW – Saturday evening sees the rubber match between the New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire. The third and final match between the two clubs, and it’s a crucial one for both before the international break. Both clubs have won against each other on home soil and are fully rested after the MLS All-Star Game and all its hijinks. So let’s take a look at how this game shapes up.
New York Red Bulls looking to end August on a high hosting Chicago Fire
Form Book
Given how this month has gone, both the Red Bulls and Fire will want to get to September in a hurry. Let’s start with New York, who started the month with a scoreless draw against FC Cincinnati at home. Two straight losses followed, one of which was a 2-0 defeat at Chicago where Luka Stojanovic bagged a brace inside the opening eight minutes to end matters early.
But the screw was turned recently with a 1-0 home win against Columbus Crew in which John Tolkin scored his first MLS goal. That result has Gerhard Struber’s men sitting 10th in the Eastern Conference. Plus, due to the Hudson River Derby becoming the Hudson Rain Delay that was postponed, New York has two matches in hand. That’ll be crucial for the upcoming playoff push.
Chicago started well in August with two draws and two wins that followed. Since then, two one-goal losses to Inter Miami and Orlando have them on the slide. They are just two points behind the Red Bulls going into this weekend. This game in Harrison is the second one between the two, with New York winning 2-0 back in early May. It’ll also be the third of a crazy six-game road trip that’ll test the team’s mettle. So far, they’ve yet to win or draw. Chicago also owns the worst away record in MLS, having not won a match on their travels thus far, with a goal differential of -13.
What to expect in New York Red Bulls vs Chicago Fire
This game will look a lot different to the game in Chicago in early August. In that match, John Tolkin, Amro Tarek, Tom Edwards and Kyle Duncan made up the back-four. Against Columbus, Struber reverted to three at the back, inserted Tolkin in midfield and gave starts to the returning trio of Andres Reyes, Sean Nealis and Andrew Gutman. It’s a big difference, the Red Bulls are getting healthier in time for the playoff push. Their best performances have been at home where they’ve collected 17 of their 22 points.
Expect a lot of tackles in this match. According to FotMob – New York (12.4) ranks first and Chicago (11.4) is second in terms of successful tackles per match. Furthermore, the Red Bulls are first in MLS in Possession won in the final third of the pitch. That’ll put some pressure on Chicago and goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth. The 34-year-old is seventh in the league with 3.4 saves per match.
There’s also a bit of pressure under the surface towards the forward line of the Red Bulls. Their strikers haven’t scored a goal from open play since the August 8 loss at Chicago. Neither Fabio or Patryk Klimala have scored from open play since the 3-2 home loss to New England on July 31. Klimala scored a penalty in the loss at Montreal. Caden Clark and Cristian Casseres Jr, who haven’t scored since late May and early July respectively, are tied with Klimala for the team lead with four goals each.
Chicago, just by winning Saturday night, will get their first road win and leapfrog New York in the table. The Red Bulls will find themselves with a shout of the playoffs with games yet to make up. Both teams really need three points in this one.
