MLS: New York Red Bulls vs. Toronto FC Preview, Odds, Prediction

New York Red Bulls and Toronto FCpromise a god show this Saturday night at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison. The hosts are trying to keep themselves in the East playoff zone while the guests from Canada sit outside the same, but not too far, and a win here would bring them on the verge of the promised land. We can’t say that either of these two units is in some particularly shiny form, as they both have one win each in the previous five MLS clashes.

Preview

New York Red Bulls (-330) lost the previous game in Charlotte, 2-0. Some weeks after defeating the same opponent in the US Open Cup, 3-1, Gerhard Struber’s guys didn’t stand a chance in North Carolina last week. The hosts were far better, allowing only one shot on goal and having the ball possession more than 60% of the time.

Over the previous five events across all the competitions, the Bulls have allowed at least one goal, and apparently, that is their biggest problem. When playing at home, Struber’s unit has been confident lately, posting back-to-back wins. However, prior to that, they had one very long streal of contests without a victory.

Regarding the efficiency, in the previous four events in Harrison, both teams have scored in all of them, and in the past three, we’ve seen at least four goals.

Toronto FC (+850) is still waiting to see the Italian superstar Lorenzo Insigne who lands in a few weeks. For the moment, the team struggles to provide consistency, and the fans hope that after Insigne’s arrival, this unit will not only become more reliable but evolve to the next level.

When counting all the competitions, besides the MLS and the Canadian Championship, Toronto is without a defeat in four straight events. They played 2-2 on the road in DC, then beat HFX Wanderers on the road, 1-2, the Chicago Fire at home, 3-1, and Forge in the Championship finals after penalties.

Those four games all saw both teams scoring, and three were with over 2.5 goals. However, what worries the fans is the fact that Toronto didn’t win on the road in the MLS since July 2021. Since the start of 2022, they managed to concede fewer than two goals away from home only twice.

Latest News

Andres Reyes is out due to his foot problems. Lucas Monzon and Serge Ngoma are out as well, while Cristian Casseres and Cameron Harper might be unavailable.

Marshall-Ruty, Chris Mavinga, and Nobele Okello are all under question mark for this one.

Head to Head Games

This season, the previous game between these teams was in March, and NYRB trashed Toronto in Canada, 1-4. Four of their previous five head-to-head games were with both teams scoring.

Prediction

The hosts are absolute favorites, and despite having a few players doubtful for this affair, we expect them to win. Toronto is simply poor on the road, while on the other side, the Bulls are on the rise at home. Plus, we’ve seen that the Canadians have problems with protecting their own net, which is something NYRB exploits solidly.

Pick: Red Bulls win -330

Here are more MLS previews:

• Seattle Sounders vs. LAFC Preview
• Nashville SC vs. Sporting Kansas City FC