Happy derby day to all. We're just hours now from kickoff between the Red Bulls and expansion side Philadelphia Union, and it's a gorgeous day for some football. The Red Bulls com into the match on the heels of a dramatic last second victory at home over FC Dallas, and are in first place in the Eastern Conference on 9 points. Philadelphia comes in off a loss at Toronto, and have three points through as many matches, good for sixth in the eight team East. Here's how we can expect the Red Bulls to line up come kickoff:
Angel Salou
Ubiparipovic Lindpere Robinson Richards
Miller Petke Ream Hall
Coundoul
Even though Hans Backe has said new signee Brian Nielsen will play in the match, I still can't see him starting. On Thursday, the guy was still in Europe. He trained one day with the team, and unless you bring inLionel Messi, one training session with a team isn't enough for anyone to start a match. I would expect to see him at some point in the match definitely though, Backe wants to get his guys in the fold right away.
Prediction:
Because this is the first ever match between the Red Bulls and Philadelphia, I'm going to have to bring out my true colors in my prediction. I was born in New York, and even though I'm a Jets and Yankees fan (Mets/Phillies and Giants/Eagles are the big PHI-NY rivalries), I still don't like Philadelphia. My favorite aspect of the city is the comedy "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia". I like cheesesteaks too, but that's about it. Red Bulls 3, Union 0.
I'll be at Red Bull Arena for the match, and I'll be providing commentary of all the day's festivities over on the Twitter page.