New York Red Bulls will host Philadelphia Union on Thursday at the Red Bull Arena as they look to extend their current unbeaten run to four games.
The visitors are currently in fourth place and, as they have games in hand on the teams above them, they have the chance to climb the MLS Eastern Conference.
Match preview
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New York Red Bulls finished sixth in the Eastern Conference last season - they are currently a far cry away from that in 11th place, but a victory could see them overtake Inter Miami this week.
Gerhard Struber's team are fresh from facing New York City twice in a row and while they drew their first encounter thanks to a very late penalty by Patryk Klimala, they did defeat them on Sunday.
It was another closely fought game between the two, but a goal from Omir Fernandez was able to secure the three points which were much needed.
With games quickly running out, the Red Bulls Metro must put together a strong run of form towards the end of the regular season if they are to stand any chance of earning a playoff spot.
Defeating a side that is currently in one of those places would certainly be helpful for them as they look to claw their way up the table at any cost.
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The two teams have already competed twice this season, and New York Red Bulls have been unable to defeat Philadelphia, suffering a 1-0 loss early on in the campaign and then a 1-1 draw the last time they met.
Philadelphia have had an impressive year in the MLS, and they come into this game on the back of consecutive wins, with a strong performance against Orlando City being followed up by a 1-0 victory against Atlanta United.
Kacper Przybylko has been in prolific form as of late, having scored three goals in the last two matches and he is currently the leading scorer for the club with nine in the MLS so far.
Even though the U have been playing well this year, away from home they have not been as dominant, having only won two games on their travels, which is something they will need to adjust on Thursday.
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Team News
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New York Red Bulls are set to be without Lucas Monzon for this fixture with his hamstring injury keeping him out of action at the moment.
Aaron Long is another player that is currently injured as he is dealing with an Achilles' problem that will mean Struber will need to look at other options.
Fabio was also unable to feature against New York City on Sunday as he was not able to recover from a calf issue, but he could be fit enough to be in the squad for Thursday.
Philadelphia will be without Cory Burke who had a sprained ankle recently that forced him to miss the match against Atlanta United and will rule him out of this game as well.
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Carlos; Gutman, Nealis, Edwards; Tolkin, Yearwood, Davis, Duncan; Mosso, Casseres, Klimala
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Mbaizo, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Martinez, Flach, Monteiro, Gazdag; Santos, Przybylko
We say: New York Red Bulls 1-2 Philadelphia Union
Both teams are in strong form as of late, which should provide plenty of confidence and momentum for the squads heading into this particular fixture.
With the strength that Philadelphia have in attack, particularly due to the form of Przybylko, the visitors are likely to have the edge in the match.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a New York Red Bulls win with a probability of 46.8%. A win for Philadelphia Union had a probability of 27.15% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a New York Red Bulls win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.15%) and 2-0 (8.63%). The likeliest Philadelphia Union win was 0-1 (8.37%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.37%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.4% likelihood.
