The New York Red Bulls take on FC Dallas at Red Bull Arena on Friday, April 29 at 7 p.m. ET (TV: UniMas; RADIO: Red Bulls Radio English/Spanish on TuneIn). After Sunday’s victory against Orlando City at home, the Red Bulls look to take a second straight win in front of their home fans.
New York Red Bulls
- Record: 2-6-0
- Goals Leader: Felipe, Mike Grella, Bradley Wright-Phillips (2)
- Assists Leader: Sacha Kljestan (4)
- Saves Leader: Luis Robles (23)
FC Dallas
Record: 5-2-2
- Goals Leader: Michael Barrios (4)
- Assists Leader: Mauro Diaz (4)
- Saves Leader: Chris Seitz (21)
Scouting Report
Sunday night’s win against Orlando City SC lifted the spirits of fans and players alike in the metro area, and the Red Bulls will look to continue their success in Friday’s clash with FC Dallas. Bradley Wright-Phillips had a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders as he netted two goals in a 10-minute span, opening his tab for the season. Watch out for Wright-Phillips to take advantage of Dallas’s defensive uncertainty with key defender and captain, Matt Hedges, out for the next couple weeks with a torn meniscus.
Midfielder Sacha Kljestan continued his barrage of assists, delivering the ball to Mike Grella in the 65th minute of Sunday’s game to jumpstart the scoring. Kljestan is currently tied for first in MLS with four assists heading into Friday night and became just the 13th player in team history to have 20 career assists. Kljestan is delivering balls at a record setting pace, averaging one assist every 204 minutes.
Mike Grella is coming off a big game against Orlando, scoring the first goal and providing an assist for the second. The forward’s aggressiveness and pressing continues to create havoc in the opposing side’s half, and his energy will be key to creating space and capitalizing against Dallas. Grella and fellow winger Lloyd Sam delivered service into the box during Sunday night’s win and they will look to do the same on Friday.
Despite their 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps over the weekend, FC Dallas currently tops the MLS Power Rankings and sits in first place of the Western Conference. Their main threat comes in the form of Mauro Diaz, who recently returned from injury. The midfielder has started just four games in the 2016 season, but has already tallied four assists, which ties Kljestan for first place in the MLS assists leaders category. Diaz’s playmaking ability will keep the Red Bulls hands (and feet) full as they try to shut down the 25-year-old Argentinian.
Midfielder Michael Barrios has been Dallas’s goal-scoring force this season. The Colombian has scored four goals so far in his 2016 campaign, and won Week 4 MLS Player of the Week honors.
Defensively, FC Dallas will be suffering from the loss of their captain and defender Matt Hedges. The center back, who was named to MLS Best XI in 2015 and was a finalist for Defender of the Year, is set to miss four to six weeks with an injury. This will create a hole to fill in Dallas’s back line, which has already been shaky away from home with their only two losses on the season coming in away matches.
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