Colorado Rapids vs. New York Red Bulls | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Colorado Rapids vs. New York Red Bulls
2018 MLS Regular Season – Week 11
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park — Commerce City
May 12 - 9 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

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Following an emotional and comprehensive win in the New York Derby, the New York Red Bulls head to Commerce City in search of a second consecutive road win against a Colorado Rapids squad looking to bounce back from three consecutive defeats.

While the Rapids have never won at Red Bull Arena, New York haven’t left Colorado with three points since 2007.

Colorado Rapids

Anthony Hudson made four changes to his starting XI from the side that lost 2-1 to Orlando City SC the previous week with Tim Howard returning from suspension, Sam Nicholson making his debut in the midfield after arriving in a trade with Minnesota United FC, Kip Colvey returning to the lineup and Jack McBean partnering with Dominique Badji up top.

Colorado (2-4-2) were unable to find the back of the net for the second time in three consecutive losses and will face a high-pressing opponent for consecutive weeks after losing to Sporting Kansas City, 1-0.

“They’re the same in terms of they press like SKC, but the other part of their game is different in terms of their buildup and how they like to attack, very high paced and high energy,” Hudson said of the Red Bulls. “They’re exciting to watch, I’d imagine from a neutral point of view. It’s like high octane just go, go, go. It’s another good test, a different test.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Jack Price, F - Dominique Badji
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Kortne Ford (left MCL sprain), D - Marlon Hairston (right knee surgery)

Projected Starting XI
(3-5-2, right to left)
GK: Tim Howard — Deklan Wynne, Danny Wilson, Tommy Smith — Kip Colvey, Sam Nicholson, Jack Price, Enzo Martinez, Edgar Castillo — Joe Mason, Dominique Badji

Notes: Howard has faced the Red Bulls once before – a 1-0 loss on March 11, 2017 in which he tied his MLS career-best with seven saves. … The Rapids have lost three straight games and have scored just one goal in that time. They had averaged 1.8 goals per game in their previous five games (2W-1L-2D).

New York Red Bulls

The New York Red Bulls (5-3-0) have won three of their last four games, including an emotional 4-0 drubbing of rival New York City FC in the 10th all-time regular season derby encounter. Kaku opened the scoring in the second minute and set up Florian Valot to put the hosts in front, 2-0, after four minutes.

Bradley Wright-Phillips then struck for his 11th all-time goal against NYCFC and Derrick Etienne Jr. capped the scoring in the 79th minute as the Red Bulls defeated NYCFC for the first time since 2016.

Now, the challenge is to avoid complacency in Commerce City.

“We have to be able to transition to a game where there isn’t the same sort of hype, same sort of emotion surrounding it and then of course it’s away,” goalkeeper Luis Robles said. “The away games so far have not been our best. I think we got a great result in LA, but there’s always just a different element we have to overcome."

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Kyle Duncan (ACL surgery); QUESTIONABLE: D - Connor Lade (ankle sprain), M - Marc Rzatkowski (calf), D - Aurelien Collin (ankle)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Luis Robles — Michael Murillo, Aaron Long, Tim Parker, Kemar Lawrence — Tyler Adams, Sean Davis — Florian Valot, Kaku, Danny Royer — Bradley Wright-Phillips

Notes: Wright-Phillips is averaging a goal every 78.8 minutes this season, the best of any MLS player with at least six appearances. His MLS career-best minutes per goal rate is 95.3 (2014). … The Red Bulls have scored 2.6 goals per game this season, tied for the most in the league. Last season, they averaged 1.6 goals per game.

All-Time Series

Overall: Colorado Rapids 18 wins, 61 goals … New York Red Bulls 16 wins, 61 goals … 7 ties
At Colorado: Rapids 11 wins, 31 goals … Red Bulls 6 wins, 19 goals … 3 ties
Last meeting at Colorado: Colorado Rapids 2, New York Red Bulls 1 (Apr. 16, 2016)