Red Bulls, MLS
(Photo by Danny Suriel - JSN)

Red Bulls Host NYCFC in Hudson River Derby Finale Sunday

The Third Hudson River Derby match is set to take place Sunday at Red Bull Arena and New York's red and white are coming off two consecutive shutout wins and unbeaten in their last six. With a win, the Red Bulls can tie Montreal for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer's (MLS) Eastern Conference.

  • Where: Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey
  • Where to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes

Before the Red Bulls began a six match unbeaten streak with a win on Sept. 17, the playoffs looked like a pie in the sky. As the MLS Standings are today, the Red Bulls have made up 10 points in their last month of soccer and could find themselves tied for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. 

We all know what happened in the first two Hudson River Derbies; The first was a tie, the second a resounding Red Bull victory on the road at Yankee Stadium thanks to  young forward, Omir Fernandez tally off Kyle Duncan's magnificent assist.

Those two wins were painful for New York City Football Club (NYCFC) fans to watch and pure joy for the loyal Red Bull supporters who had endured a disappointing season up to that point. 

Now, the Red Bulls and their manager Gerhard Struber look confident heading into the home stretch of the 2021 MLS Season and could put their cross river rivals to bed with another victory. 

Here is an injury update

  • Fabio is available
  • Anton Tinnerholm NYCFC right-back is out with a ruptured Achilles

The New York Red Bulls are not just a hot team heading into Sunday's clash with their cross river rivals, they are a more mature team than they were at the beginning of the season. This has a lot to do with the team's coaching staff, led by Gerhard Struber who is in his first season and after a poor start to the year has turned the Red Bulls ship around in recent weeks.

During a recent Press Conference, Coach Struber shed some light on what this next game against NYCFC means to him and the fanbase.

My boys showed me we can win against them [NYCFC], my boys show me we can create very good performances against them and tomorrow we have to show this one more time. Constant good performances, this is right now the task. - Gerhard Struber

Carlos Coronel may not need any help because of this. The Red Bulls starting goalkeeper will come into Sunday's match third in MLS in shutouts (10) and fresh off two shutouts. More important than all of these stats is that Coronel plays great at home and that is where Sunday's match will take place.

The Matchup

The Red Bulls and NYCFC are both fighting to make the MLS playoffs. With a win the Red Bulls will tie NYCFC with 40 points and create three way tie for seventh place, the final playoff spot in the East.

Red Bull Manager Gerhard Struber has adjusted his formation in the two games his team have played against New York City. Before the first derby game with NYCFC, Struber went with a 4-2-3-1. Klimala was the lone striker and Fabio was right behind him as the center attacking midfielder.

Coach Struber indicated that Fabio is available for selection in the next game. The 6'4" striker with energy for days will add something to the Red Bulls offense which can be a little small and lack explosivity. 

Coach Struber commented on what this final Derby match of the season means to his club and how he wants his players to approach it mentally.

Everyone is excited about the game on Sunday and everyone fight for a moment like that [where we are] back in the race. The last few weeks gave us a big boost at our back and a good confidence but this is [in the] past and we have to look forward with a good confidence in this game and with a good setup and the mindset of a winner, we can win this game. - Gerhard Struber

Regarding New York City's game plan, their manager, Ronny Delia has to try something different to crack this Red Bulls team, or does he? His team led in the first Derby game thanks to a goal from leading goal scorer, Valentin Castellanos until a handball by Maxime Chanot allowed Red Bull to tie in the waning minutes. That formation with the four-man defensive midfield of Thorarinson- Parks- Morales - Sands and a standard 4-man backline held the Red Bulls off the scoreboard for most of the first Derby game. 

The constant in NYCFC's lineup in each game against Red Bull has been Alfredo Morales, an athletic ball-winning midfielder who has been a thorn in the Red Bulls side during these first two games. Keaton Parks has also been a tough player to matchup with. At 6'4" he can only be matched in height by Red Bull center back, Sean Nealis and has been a tough player to play against.

Overall, I feel like both teams are very evenly matched. While the Red Bulls struggled for months prior to the start of this current unbeaten streak, they always had talent. Now, that talent is starting to shine through with a balance of experience in Captain Sean Davis and young defensive midfielder Dru Yearwood, who has really shone in the derby games this season.

During the presser previewing the NYCFC game, Red Bull midfielder Dru Yearwood described the mindset that the Red Bulls have had as a team lately:

For us, it doesn’t matter whether we’re playing NYC, New England, it’s really just taking every game as it comes. Taking it one game at a time. It’s not looking at the weeks ahead, it’s looking at the next game. Keeping that mentality going into every game is key for us and that’s spurred on our run. - Dru Yearwood

Closing Thoughts

Now let's turn our attention to the biggest gaping hole in the Red Bulls playoff picture: Caden Clark. The 18-year-old Barca Residency and Red Bulls II product played in 15 games since he returned to the lineup from an Appendectomy in late June.

During the fall of 2020, the 18-year-old Minnesotan scored in his first MLS game and was breaking games open with terrific goals. Back in the present, the talented midfielder has one assist and no goals in his last 17 games. Struber has been using him as a late sub, so could the boy wonder, Caden Clark return to his magical ways on Sunday? Yes he can and there will be no better time than tomorrow for him to end his goal scoring drought.

Can the Red Bulls vanquish NYCFC on Sunday and move into a playoff spot for the first time all season? We will find out, when these two New York Metro-area soccer rivals do battle for the third and final time  of the 2021 MLS Season. #NEWYORKISRED

Anthony Paradiso
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