The New York Red Bulls take on the Chicago Fire in week 3 of the MLS Season on Saturday, May 1st. How should they combat their opponent?
Week 3 of this young MLS season starts in Harrison, New Jersey where the New York Red Bulls clash against the Chicago Fire (1:30PM EST; MSG, ESPN+). Both sides are yet to find their first victory of the campaign while sharing the same struggles in attack and defense. For Gerhard Struber's men, this game represents a nice opportunity to work into a possible winning formula, but how do they achieve this?
Stick to the 4-4-2 diamond
Last week's 3-5-2 tactical experiment in the 3-2 defeat at LA Galaxy last Sunday was a blunder in many aspects. Putting Florian Valot at right wing-back didn't suit him at all and led to conceding the opening goal when he was caught out of possession. He, along with others such as Caden Clark struggled to impose themselves into the flow of the game which led to him coming off in favor of Kyle Duncan at halftime. And despite playing three center-backs (Aaron Long, Sean Nealis, Amro Tarek) there was too much space in between them, leaving Javier Hernandez to capitalize with his second goal en route to a hat-trick. The tactical gamble last week was unreasonable seeing as there was no preseason to implement such experimentation.
But at halftime, Struber switched to the 4-4-2 diamond setup that saw positives despite the 2-1 loss in the season opener to Sporting Kansas City. With the diamond midfield, the Red Bulls were more effective pressing the Galaxy and maintaining more spells of possession. That in itself is a good thing to carry over into the game against Chicago as the team continues to find ways to attack opponents. Fabio and Brian White will likely keep leading the line until new signing Patryk Klimala gets up to speed.
We know it's early but until something better comes around, the 4-4-2 diamond is way to go.
Make the most out of possession spells
Unless you're a Pep Guardiola team where you dominate the ball at opposing teams' stadiums, the home team usually gets the lion share of possession. Last week, Chicago only had 39% possession against Atlanta United in a 3-1 loss where they lacked chance creation and the firepower to match. Due to their shortcomings in the transfer market they don't have the sort of player that can take the game by storm and dictate the game to their liking so far. Manager Raphael Wicky has overseen a difficult project during his tenure.
But in preparing for the game at Red Bull Arena, Wicky may have to settle for smash and grab. Chicago don't boast the fastest players in the league, however, counter-attacking and set-piece execution may see themselves a path to victory. New York Red Bulls will need to make possession count as they'll likely see their counterparts sit deep in a narrow shape. Captain Sean Davis is a good ball carrier playing as the 6, so is Cristian Casseres Jr. who scored his first goal last week. One benefit to keeping the ball is recharging the batteries for when New York presses Chicago into turnovers and mistakes.
Attack the wide flanks using overlapping runs
While the midfield is crucial in ensuring balls get fed to the strikers, the fullbacks will be key in providing that extra dimension in attack. Andrew Gutman has shined while on loan at New York Red Bulls and scored his first goal last week and is growing in importance with every passing game. His ability to get forward, provide width and use high-energy bursts make him a nice outlet in the attacking phase. And that's not to mention his prowess to intercept and tackle which can initiate moves in transition.
The aforementioned Kyle Duncan should get the nod on the opposite flank, as he the most seasoned player at right-back in the team. Duncan has shown the capability to dribble up field, move with pace and send in a few crosses into the box. The team has yet to take advantage of Fabio's 6-foot-4 height, but it's an advantage that'll be evident once the game starts. The Fire defense has had a lack of communication in defense which is part of the reason they've conceded multiple goals to start the season.
Given the way both teams have commenced this year, this game could be a cagey, hard-fought affair.
Projected RBNY XI vs Chicago Fire (buildlineup.com)
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