Red Bull New York has an opportunity to pick themselves up after Wednesday’s mistake-filled defeat to the last-place Philadelphia Union by grabbing three points at home against Charlotte FC on Saturday night.
To come away with a victory against Charlotte, the Red Bulls will need to be sharper in attack, more composed in possession and highly disciplined in defense.
Red Bull New York head coach Michael Bradley labeled two of the three goals conceded to Philadelphia as “soft.” The Red Bulls cannot afford to repeat that script in front of home fans at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday.
Left-back Matthew Dos Santos believes that he and his teammates will be inspired by the home support as the Red Bulls last played at Sports Illustrated Stadium on May 16 in a 1-1 draw against rivals NYCFC.
“It’s going to be an amazing feeling, being able to play in front of the home fans, especially after such a long break,” he explained.
Red Bulls Look To Get Back on Track
Bradley and his technical staff have put in the time on the training pitch and film room to provide players a refreshed mindset and the tactical details needed to produce a very different result when Saturday’s match kicks off at 6:30 p.m Eastern Time.
“When you have a game that leaves you disappointed and frustrated, there’s nothing better than to be able to turn around a few days later and play again,” Bradley stated.
“Everything about the last 48 hours has been turning the players around mentally, physically, and making sure that we use the Philadelphia game in the right way to understand the things that we’ve got to keep improving, to understand what our next steps are as a team, and to make sure that we’re ready to go when that whistle blows.”
Heading into the weekend, seventh-place Charlotte sits even on points with the eighth-place Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference standings as both have collected 22 points through 16 MLS matches.
Charlotte recently acquired Allan Saint-Maximin, though the 29-year-old’s MLS debut has been delayed by visa issues.
Even without Saint-Maximin, Charlotte has scored 26 goals, which is even with the Red Bulls, meaning that it’s very possible that Saturday could be a tightly contested affair.
Bazán Pushing for Starting XI Place
It’s possible that 20-year-old defender Julián Bazán could start for New York after he made a positive impression as a substitute against Philadelphia.
“Julian came on and did a really good job,” Bradley said during Wednesday’s post-match press conference. “In some way, he’s an interesting player because he has played in different positions. We still view him primarily as a center-back. Obviously, in the last game before the break in Kansas City and then again [on Wednesday], we felt like it made sense for different reasons to get him on the field and just use him at right-back.
“He has played there for Colombia’s under-20 national team. He’s also played a little bit deep in the midfield. So he’s establishing himself in our group in a really positive way, and we’re going to continue to push him forward.”
Latest Lineup and Injury Updates for Charlotte FC and Red Bull New York
Midfielder Aron John (upper body injury) is the only player listed for Charlotte on the latest MLS Player Availability Report. He has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest.
The Red Bulls will be without goalkeeper A.J. Marcucci, who is recovering from a ruptured left ACL injury. It’s also likely that winger Rafael Mosquera will not take part as he was held out of pre-match training on Friday.
Marcucci is listed as out, while Mosquera is considered questionable.
UPDATE: 6:30 PM ET: Red Bull New York announced the following starting XI and substitutes:
Red Bull New York starting XI:
Goalkeeper: Horvath
Defenders: Che, Bazan, Nealis, Dos Santos
Midfielders: Donkor, Mehmeti, Forsberg
Forwards: Cowell, Hall, Ruvalcaba
Subs: McCarthy, Berggren, Jiménez, Marshall-Rutty, Parker, Rojas, Sofo, Valencia Worth.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Cameron Harper were not on the injured list and were left off the match roster.
Worth and Jiménez Could Be in Line To Make MLS Debuts on Saturday
A pair of Red Bull II youngsters, midfielder Nate Worth and forward Mijahir Jiménez, continue to be on short-term agreements with the first team. It’s possible that Bradley could hand one or both of them their MLS debut.
Both made the bench against Philadelphia but were not called up in Wednesday’s defeat.
Apple TV will broadcast Saturday’s contest in English and Spanish. Neil Sika will handle primary play-by-play duties and will be joined by Kyndra de St Aubin on the English broadcast, while Nacho Garcia will call play-by-play in Spanish.
As always, Red Bull supporters can tune into Red Bulls Radio at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Matt Harmon and Steve Jolley will host Countdown to Kickoff and bring you all the action.
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