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The New York Red Bulls haven't played a league game since June 5th, but coming fresh off their US Open Cup win against the Atlanta Silverbacks 3-0, RBNY will look to right the ship against the Vancouver Whitecaps. It won't be easy.
Vancouver is currently second in the Western Conference and RBNY will be without defenseman Kemar Lawrence, as he has a match with Argentina to (probably) close out Jamaica's Copa America campaign.
Vancouver's top performers are ranked in at least the top five in MLS Fantasy at each position, so they have some heavy hitters. Let's take a look at who RBNY will need to contain on June 20th.
David Ousted (GK, 80 points; 7 clean sheets, 41 saves): Ousted has played every minute for a Whitecaps team which is surprisingly a contender to win the Western Conference this year. He currently ranks second in MLS Fantasy for points scored by a GK (Stefan Frei of Seattle Sounders has 94 points and the top spot). He is averaging just shy of one goal against per game (15 goals in 16 games), so he isn't impenetrable.
Kendall Watson (DEF, 77 points; 7 clean sheets, 170 CBAI): Watson has already beaten his fantasy point total from the 2014 season and he is ranked third behind Omar Gonzalez (95 points) and Matt Besler (81 points) for highest scoring defensemen. He is the leader of the defense and has 170 clearances, blocks and interceptions.
Pedro Morales (MID, 81 points; 3 goals, 4 assists): Morales ranks fifth in fantasy points at midfield. He is a very consistent player, scoring at least 6 points in seven games this season. He has one red card, but has already served that suspension, following it up with a 10-point performance against Eastern Conference leaders, D.C. United.
Octavio Rivero (FWD, 74 points; 6 goals, 2 assists): Rivero ranks second in fantasy strikers behind only Kei Kamara (90 points). He has scored a third of Vancouver's goals this year, so RBNY center backs are going to have a tough task containing him.
You can catch the game at 7:00pm on June 20th.