New York Red Bulls will go in search of a second win of their Major League Soccer campaign on Saturday, when they welcome Houston Dynamo to Red Bull Arena.
The hosts currently sit 11th in the Eastern Conference with seven points on the board from their opening seven matches, while their visitors have managed three victories and nine points from their first six outings.
Match preview
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After a fourth-placed finish in the Eastern Conference and a first-round exit from the MLS playoffs last year, New York Red Bulls have experienced a slow start to the new domestic campaign, putting just seven points on the board in their first seven games.
Gerhard Struber's side began with a defeat and two draws before beating Columbus Crew 2-1 in their first and only triumph of the season thus far, as Dante Vanzeir netted the winner four minutes from time after Luquinhas had drawn them level on the hour mark.
Aiming to build a winning run on the back of that result, The Red Bulls then travelled to take on Charlotte FC and had to settle for a share of the spoils as Andres Reyes's own goal in the 74th minute drew their hosts level, before they fell short away at Atlanta United with Giorgos Giakoumakis's early goal making the only difference between the sides.
Struber's men now head into the eighth round of league fixtures on the back of a home contest against San Jose Earthquakes last Sunday, in which they looked set to fall to a 1-0 defeat, only to draw level through Tom Barlow 17 minutes into injury time after a long delay in play.
While we are still at a very early stage of the MLS season, New York Red Bulls will certainly not be overly pleased with their start, and with a six-point gap already forming between themselves and the top four, they will be keen to make a return to winning ways to ensure they stand a chance of fighting for a spot in the leading pack in the coming months with an upturn in form.
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They welcome a Houston Dynamo side who travel on the back of a slightly stronger start to the campaign, despite it beginning with consecutive defeats away at FC Cincinnati and New England Revolution.
Ben Olsen's side would put their first points on the board with a 2-0 victory at home to Austin FC, before making it back-to-back triumphs as Amine Bassi netted the only goal of the game from the penalty spot against New York City FC.
Although they would lose in the following encounter away at San Jose Earthquakes, with another Bassi penalty overpowered by two converted spot kicks from Cristian Espinoza, El Naranja do now travel to New York having made it three wins from their last four games with a defeat of Los Angeles Galaxy last weekend.
Hector Herrera opened the scoring in the first half, and Bassi converted his fourth penalty in as many games to double their lead, before adding his side's third 17 minutes from time and sealing a dominant victory on home turf.
While Olsen's side will be pleased with their start, having put themselves in the top seven with a game in hand on some sides around them, Houston Dynamo are yet to pick up a point away from home so far this season, and they will hope to end that wait and make it back-to-back wins on Saturday.
Team News
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New York Red Bulls will remain without Serge Ngoma and Lewis Morgan due to injury issues, while forward Dante Vanzeir will also be absent until further notice, having taken a step back from action after apologising for using a racial remark during their contest with San Jose Earthquakes last week.
In his place, Tom Barlow, who netted the equaliser off the bench, should come in to join Cory Burke up front, while Omir Fernandez could again feature in support of the front two after Luquinhas was not involved in the squad last time out.
Elsewhere, Frankie Amaya and Cristian Casseres will again partner up in the engine room, while Struber will likely field an unchanged back three of Andres Reyes, Sean Nealis and Dylan Nealis.
Although Olsen would have hoped to be able to deploy an unaltered Houston Dynamo starting XI after their impressive victory over LA Galaxy, he will be unable to call on opening goalscorer and key midfielder Hector Herrera, who will serve a suspension after being sent off deep into injury time in that game.
In his absence, Luis Caicedo could come into the engine room alongside Artur and Ivan Franco, while Corey Baird will again lead the line and continue his search for a first goal of the season in the continued absence of new signing Ifunanyachi Achara.
Instead, their attack has been heavily reliant on Bassi, who has netted five goals in the last four MLS games, albeit with four coming from the penalty spot, while Adalberto Carrasquilla will likely round off the front three and look to cause problems on the right flank.
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Carlos; Reyes, S Nealis, D Nealis; Duncan, Amaya, Casseres, Harper; Fernandez; Burke, Barlow
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Clark; Steres, Bartlow, Hadebe, Escobar; Franco, Artur, Caicedo; Carrasquilla, Baird, Bassi
We say: New York Red Bulls 1-2 Houston Dynamo
While they are yet to succeed on their travels this season, Houston Dynamo do come into Saturday's game with momentum from a good run of form, and against a New York Red Bulls side who are yet to hit their stride, we fancy El Naranja to record another victory.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
