Preview: FC Cincinnati vs. New York Red Bulls | MLS is Back Tournament, Group E

MLSsoccer staff

2020 MLS is Back Tournament – Group E, Matchday 16
FC Cincinnati vs. New York Red Bulls
ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
Wed., July 22 – 8 PM ET

TV: ESPN, ESPN Deportes; TSN in Canada

STREAMING: ESPN App in USA; TSN Appin Canada

FC Cincinnati and the New York Red Bulls close their Group E schedules by revisiting one of the more interesting matches of the opening weekend of the 2020 regular season, with the Red Bulls finishing 3-2 winners. And they'll close out their group stage with an opportunity to book safe passage into the Round of 16 at the MLS is Back Tournament with a win or a draw.

FC Cincinnati rebounded well from a Hell is Real defeat to stun Atlanta United on a sensational strike from Frankie Amaya. Meanwhile, the Red Bulls are coming off a 2-0 defeat to Columbus Crew SC in which they failed to register a single shot on frame.

The Red Bulls have won all three MLS meetings against FC Cincy, and also defeated the USL version of the club 3-2 in extra time in a 2017 U.S. Open Cup semifinal classic.

FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati have been energized by Amaya's first MLS goal, which gave them their first win in the Jaap Stam era. The Dutch manager heaped ample praise on the young midfielder.

“He's a player with ability on the ball,” Stam said. “He's courageous and he's not the biggest player on the pitch, but he's not afraid to put a tackle in and he wins a lot of important balls. He shows quality on the ball as well going forward, and you can see that he's got scoring ability as well if he gets into situations in front of goal.”

Amaya might be called upon for some more magic, with FC Cincinnati possibly without injured DP striker Jurgen Locadia and midfielder Siem de Jong.

Preview: FC Cincinnati vs. New York Red Bulls | MLS is Back Tournament, Group E - Project Starting XI

Updated team roster

Injury Report:
- OUT: Jimmy McLaughlin (M) - ankle injury
- OUT: Spencer Richey (GK) - concussion
- OUT: Maikel van der Werff (D) - groin injury
- QUESTIONABLE: Siem de Jong (M) - groin injury
- QUESTIONABLE: Jürgen Locadia (F) - quad injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

New York Red Bulls

Chris Armas faced some criticism for fielding an unchanged lineup for the Red Bulls' Round 2 defeat to Columbus Crew SC. Will there be changes against FC Cincinnati? Is Brian White ready to play a full 90 minutes? The answers come Wednesday night, but Armas defended his decision.

"I think the guys were recovered," he said. "Five days for the pro players that we have, the fitness levels that we have, that certainly in my opinion — that was not the difference tonight. We had a bunch of guys that played in Game 1 that played limited minutes. We'll look back, I won't second-guess that one. I think we let ourselves down in other ways. And Columbus is a good team and we have to understand that. In real games, margins are thing. We'll be better for it. We'll look hard at it and get better as we go."

The Red Bulls are almost at full health coming into the matchup, with midfielder Mathias Jorgensen the only name appearing on the injury report, as he's questionable with a hamstring injury.