New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes | 2017 MLS Match Preview

Steve Brisendine

New York Red Bulls vs. San Jose Earthquakes
2017 MLS Regular Season
Red Bull Arena - Harrison, N.J.
Wednesday, July 19 - 7:30 p.m. ET
WATCH: MLS LIVE

In a league where few things seem out of reach, a run from seventh place to a third straight finish atop the Eastern Conference isn't out of the question for the New York Red Bulls – yet. For now, though, they'd like to at least be back in the playoff picture.

Trailing sixth-place Columbus by two points and with Crew SC idle on Wednesday, the Red Bulls can get above the red line with three points at home against the San Jose Earthquakes.

San Jose are coming off off their first league loss of the Chris Leitch era, a 4-2 pasting by Atlanta United on Independence Day. They've won in Lamar Hunt US Open Cup play since then, though, and will be looking to bounce back into an upward MLS trajectory on Wednesday – even though they have struggled in the past to win on the Red Bulls' home ground.

And as a side note, there's a 1-in-4 chance that Wednesday's match could serve as a preview to the Open Cup final, the Red Bulls also having made the semifinal round last week. They would host the Quakes again if both teams make the final.

New York Red Bulls

The Red Bulls have some pattern-breaking to do if they want to make a run up the table. They snapped a four-match winless streak with a 2-1 victory over New England on June 27, but since then they haven't managed to ring up back-to-back victories in MLS play.

That said, results across all competitions show an encouraging trend for RBNY. They've won a pair of matches away against old rival New England, one in MLS play and again last week in the Open Cup quarterfinals.

The Red Bulls also have history on their side at home against the Earthquakes, with a 9-4-6 record and a plus-18 goal differential.

Suspended: None
Suspended next yellow card: MF Felipe
International duty: DF Kemar Lawrence (Jamaica), DF Michael Murillo (Panama)
Injury Report: OUT – DF Gideon Baah (broken leg – out for season), MF Mike Grella (left knee surgery)

Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1, left to right): Luis Robles — Connor Lade, Aaron Long, Aurelien Collin, Sal Zizzo — Sean Davis, Felipe — Daniel Royer, Sacha Kljestan, Alex Muyl — Bradley Wright-Phillips

Notes: After suffering a six-game road winless streak in the spring, the Red Bulls have won their last three road games across all competitions. They will now look to bring that form to Red Bull Arena, where they last lost against crosstown rivals New York City FC.

San Jose Earthquakes

The offense looks to be in good hands, or feet, going into this one. Chris Wondolowski has four goals in his last three matches and Danny Hoesen has three in his last five, both across all competitions.

Defense? That's another matter, after back-line mainstays Kofie Sarkodie and Victor Bernardez were both sent off – the former on two first-half yellow cards – in San Jose's loss at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

With Bradley Wright-Phillips up to 11 goals across all competitions for the Red Bulls and looking to settle into a late-season groove, it could be a long night for the 'Quakes.

Suspended: D Kofie Sarkodie (red card), D Victor Bernardez (red card)
Suspended next yellow card: None.
Int’l Duty: F Marco Urena (Costa Rica), M Darwin Ceren (El Salvador), M Anibal Godoy (Panama)
Injury Report: OUT — F Quincy Amarikwa (ACL knee surgery), M Marc Pelosi (left knee injury), D Harold Cummings (ankle), M Fatai Alashe (knee surgery)

Projected Starting Lineup (4-4-2, left to right): David Bingham – Cordell Cato, Andres Imperiale, Florian Jungwirth, Nick Lima – Simon Dawkins, Jahmir Hyka, Jackson Yueill, Shea Salinas – Danny Hoesen, Chris Wondolowski

Notes:After his eighth goal of the season against Atlanta United on July 4, Wondolowski is two goals away from an eighth consecutive season with 10 or more goals, which would extend his own MLS record. Wondolowski's next goal will also be the 130th of his MLS career and put him three goals behind Jaime Moreno and four behind Jeff Cunningham for third and second on the all-time MLS scoring charts, respectively.

All-Time Series

Overall: New York 11 wins (52 goals) … San Jose 17 wins (57 goals) … Ties 9
At New York: New York 9 wins (36 goals) … San Jose 4 wins (18 goals) … Ties 6