Winners in seven of their last nine matches, the New York Red Bulls (14-6-2, 44 pts) begin their three-match road trip at the Chicago Fire (6-13-5, 23 pts) on Saturday night at Toyota Park. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET with coverage on MSG, MSG GO and New York Red Bulls Radio in English and Spanish.
Here are 5 Reasons to tune into the match, presented by Franklin Group:
Armas’ Ex Team
New York Red Bulls Head Coach Chris Armas, played for the Chicago Fire for the majority of his MLS career. Armas played midfield for the Fire for a total of ten seasons and won an MLS Cup in 1998, his first season with the expansion team.
In 2008, Armas was an assistant coach for Chicago under current Red Bulls Sporting Director Denis Hamlett. For the first time as a head coach, Armas will be up against his former team Saturday night.
Looking For Revenge
The Fire defeated New York Red Bulls, 2-1, at Red Bull Arena earlier in the season. The loss marked the team’s first loss at home of the season and is one of only two times the team has lost at home out of 12 games at Red Bull Arena. For Chicago it was their first earned road points of the season.
On Top Of Assists
The Red Bulls are 2018 assist leaders in more ways than one. With 14 assists so far this season, rookie Kaku has held his place at the top of the list.
Additionally, New York as has recorded more assists than any other team at this point in the season. The Red Bulls lead the MLS with 56 assists from 16 different players.
Scoring Machines
BWP leads the team with 14 goals this season, while Daniel Royer is right behind with eight goals. Of the matches New York has played this season, these two players have scored in 15 out of 22 games.
Wright-Phillips and Royer are two out of four Red Bulls who have recorded braces this season, including in the match against LAFC with Royer's game-winning goal coming off an assist from BWP.
Return To Toyota Park
The last time the Red Bulls played at Toyota park was October, 2017 in the MLS Cup Playoffs. New York defeated Chicago 4-0 on their home turf. Wright-Phillips and Royer both scored in that game.
New York will return to Toyota Park Saturday night looking for a similar result, especially with their two top scorers on the pitch.
