With both the top of the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield at stake, the New York Red Bulls (14-9-6) will host Columbus Crew SC (13-10-8) this Saturday, October 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and coverage will be on MSG, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. Both teams are looking to get back to winning ways after the Red Bulls’ 5-2 loss to Orlando City and Crew SC’s 2-1 loss to Portland.
Here are some numbers to know ahead of Saturday’s match:
1: The Red Bulls have only won one match without Matt Miazga on the field.
3: This will be the third meeting between these teams this season, but the first at Red Bull Arena. The previous two also yielded three goals each.
4: Crew SC has won their last four road matches, but they’ve only won 5 in total this season.
8: Bradley Wright-Phillips, searching for his 15th goal of the season, has recorded 8 shots on target against Crew SC in his career and has a 38% success rate.
9: Meetings between these two teams have ended in draws 9 times, and 3 of those draws were scoreless.
22: With 22 goals, Crew SC’s Kei Kamara is currently leading the race for the MLS Golden Boot – but none of those goals have come against the Red Bulls.
54.63: This battle for the conference will be a battle for the ball: the Red Bulls lead the league in possession, with 54.63%, but Crew SC are close behind with 53.77%.
62.5: The Red Bulls have a 62.5% win rate in all competitions when coming off a loss. The last time the team lost subsequent matches was June 5, when they fell to the Dynamo after a loss to the Sounders in the previous week.
67: The Red Bulls have gone undefeated in 67% of their home games (including both Giants Stadium and Red Bull Arena) against Crew SC, winning 15 and drawing 5 of the 30 games the two teams have played.
