New York's Ryan Meara is between the pipes for the New York Red Bulls on Thursday night, while fellow New Yorker Tim Parker also gets the starting nod at centerback.
Meara faces off against New York City FC for the first time since shutting them out in a 4-0 victory in the 2018 U.S. Open Cup.
"He has been really sharp," Head Coach Chris Armas said on Meara.
Armas will deploy Parker, making his third start of the season, alongside Aaron Long, Jason Pendant and Kyle Duncan.
"Parker, right now, looks really hungry," Armas said. "He's fought hard, he's been sharp in training, sticking to what we want to do and all the principles and demands of a centerback."
Captain Sean Davis and Cristian Casseres Jr. will lock down the defensive midfield. Jared Stroud, Marc Rzatkowski, Florian Valot and Daniel Royer will lead the attack for the Red Bulls.
"Rzatkowski has been very sharp, he's very mobile," Armas said. "He can operate underneath, in the red zone, as we say. He can challenge their backline."
Stroud is making his first start for New York, following his first MLS appearance in the MLS is Back Tournament.
Armas will again have five subs available, through three stoppages of play, with a nine-man bench. Available for subs will be: Tom Barlow, Mandela Egbo, Omir Fernandez, Kaku, Ben Mines, Patrick Seagrist, Amro Tarek and Brian White. David Jensen will be the backup goalkeeper.
"We have a few ways we can close the game out or chase the game a little bit," Armas said of his bench options. "We have ways to address and manage the game."
Newcomers Dru Yearwood and Samuel Tetteh are not available to be selected for the roster.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. with coverage on MSG, MSG Go and New York Red Bulls Radio on TuneIn.
