The Hudson River Derby is finally here! For the first time in 2018, New York Red Bulls will face New York City in a fixture held at Red Bull Arena. Both teams have had good starts to the season, and have showcased their respective quality in depth, securing points despite the sporadic use of the talismanic David Villa and Bradley Wright-Phillips. Last time out the Red Bulls secured a 1-1 draw thanks to a late penalty scored by Gonzalo Verón.
Last weekend, this week’s hosts marked their first win against LA Galaxy since 2013 with a 3-2 result in California. The game’s tempo was quick from the get-go and in the 7th minute, Daniel Royer knocked home a beautifully-weighted pass across the face of the goal from Wright-Phillips. A minute later, Galaxy thought they had secured an immediate equaliser through Alessandrini, but it was chalked off due to an earlier offside. Not long after Florian Valot doubled the lead just after half-time, the hosts were able to level the scoreline with two goals in seven minutes from Ola Kamara and Giovani dos Santos. However, their hard work was undone when Romero Gamarra secured the points with a late penalty conversion.
Sitting atop of the Eastern Conference, New York City have been Major League Soccer’s star pupils this season, proving it with a 3-1 win over previously undefeated Dallas. Jesús Medina opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a close-range rebound but after Hárold Mosquera equalized seven minutes later, David Villa secured a brace to place his name alongside his Paraguayan team-mate on the score-sheet to earn his side three points in front of a home crowd.
Despite the drama versus LA Galaxy, Red Bulls’ spirit will be high going into this weekend’s rivalry, while City will be aiming to continue their dominance in the league. Although, with two games in hand, New York Red Bulls still pose a threat to their opponent’s success this season.
Match Information
Date: Saturday, May 5, 2018
Kick-off: 13:55pm (ET) | 18:55 (BST)
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Referee: Kevin Stott
Broadcasting: ESPN (USA) | MLS Live (USA & Canada) | DAZN (Canada) | Twitter (International) | Sky Sports Mix (UK)
Previous Meetings
07/03/16: New York City 2-0 New York Red Bulls
07/24/16: New York Red Bulls 4-1 New York City
06/24/17: New York Red Bulls 0-2 New York City
08/06/17: New York City 3-2 New York Red Bulls
08/25/17: New York Red Bulls 1-1 New York City
Current Form
New York Red Bulls
Guadalajara 0-1 (H) | Guadalajara 0-0 (A) | Montreal Impact 3-1 (H) | Chicago Fire 2-1 (A) | LA Galaxy 2-3 (A)
New York City
San Jose Earthquakes 1-2 (A) | Real Salt Lake 4-0 (H) | Atlanta United 2-2 (A) | Portland Timbers 3-0 | Dallas 3-1 (H)
Team News
New York Red Bulls
Injured: Kyle Duncan (torn right anterior cruciate ligament) | Connor Lade (ankle) | Marc Rzatkowski (undisclosed)
New York City
Injured: Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (hamstring)
Predicted Line-ups
New York Red Bulls
Robles
Murillo – Long – Parker – Lawrence
Adams – Davis
Royer – Romero Gamarra – Muyl
Wright-Phillips
New York City
Johnson
Tinnerholm – Ibeagha – Callens – Sweat
Moralez – Ring – Herrera
Media – Villa – Berget
Score Prediction
New York Red Bulls 3-2 New York City
