The New York Red Bulls are ready to welcome Minnesota United FC to Red Bull Arena for the first time.
With a handful of players from both clubs away on international duty, the two teams will deploy slightly different lineups than their standard Starting XI.
New York will see Bradley Wright-Phillips start at forward, with Daniel Royer, Florian Valot and Alex Muyl in the attacking midfield.
Since Red Bull Arena opened in 2010, the Red Bulls have the best home record in MLS, with the most home wins (85) and points (285). New York opened MLS play with a bang at home, defeating Portland, 4-0, on March 10 and extended their unbeaten streak in MLS play to nine (5-0-4). The Red Bulls have outscored their opponents, 23-6 with five clean sheets during the stretch.
Marc Rzatkowski and Sean Davis will anchor the defensive midfield, while Connor Lade, Tim Parker, Aaron Long and Kyle Duncan work as the back line.
Captain Luis Robles will start in goal.
Since joining the Red Bulls mid-way through the 2012 season, the Fort Huachuca, Arizona, native has accrued 50 MLS regular-season shutouts, 511 saves and a record of 81-52-43. Robles’s 50 shutouts place him in sole possession for 12th all-time in MLS.
The Red Bulls will have Vincent Bezecourt, Stefano Bonomo, Aurelien Collin, Derrick Etienne, Jr., Ben Mines and Carlos Rivas available off the bench. Ryan Meara will serve as the backup keeper.
Alejandro "Kaku" Romero Gamarra was held out of the 18 for precautionary reasons after taking a knock to his quadriceps muscle.
The New York Red Bulls have found success following a loss under head coach Jesse Marsch. New York is 15-10-6 alltime with Marsch at the helm following a loss in MLS regular-season play. After a road loss, the Red Bulls have bounced back with an 11-7-5 mark under Marsch.
Coverage of Saturday’s match on MSG2 begins at 6:30 p.m. with Honda Red Bulls Game Night. Jonathan Yardley will have the primary play-by-play responsibilities and will be alongside Shep Messing and Michelle Gingras. New York Red Bulls Radio goes live at 6 p.m. ET with triHonda Countdown to Kickoff, hosted by Matt Harmon. Ernesto Motta will provide Spanish play-by-play, beginning at 7 p.m.
