Red Bulls testing depth against Sporting KC

So far this hasn't been the best start to the season for the Red Bulls results wise, but it also hasn't been the best start to the season when the roster has been hit hard with injuries as well. Seeing Ronald Zubar, Gideon Baah & Gonzalo Veron going down with Hamstring injuries has been tough to watch and so was seeing Kemar Lawrence going down with an knee issue during the game at the Revolution.

But when a red card was issued to Felipe for a studs up challenge, then you are adding insult to injury as now you need to dig deep into the depth of your roster to try and earn a result against a red hot Sporting Kansas City side that is currently one point behind FC Dallas for the top spot in the Western Conference.

The Red Bulls won't have to worry about Matt Besler as he won't be available due to injury so how can the club take advantage of this situation? "Matt's a very good defender and he is very experienced." said Sacha Kljestan, "So having him out of the game is an advantage for us. They have done well, but in their last game against Real Salt Lake they got out played a little bit so we know they will have a chip on their shoulder when they get here."

Former MetroStars drafted midfielder Brad Davis has been such a dangerous player ever since he came to the league. After getting dealt to the original San Jose Earthquakes then moved to Houston to become the Dynamo, now being back home in the Kansas-Missouri area in Kansas City the dangerous plays he can make can be a bit concerning.

"Brad has been a very good player in this league for a long time." said Luis Robles, "The respect that is due to him is because of the results that he has been able to churn out year after year. He had a great start to the year and brings a different dynamic to the team on set pieces, that's one of the things we game plan for but at the end of the day we need to make plays defensively."

It's still early in the season and Jesse Marsch still has confidence in his players as they have played well at the start of the season with good possession and the pressing style is working, but of course the final third is a bit lacking and Marsch knows he needs to have Bradley Wright-Phillips going in the worst way.

But it sounds like Marsch believes that BWP will turn things around and start to score again. "One of Brad's challenges is not to get frustrated as he has high standards for himself." said Marsch, "He's been able to score so many goals in this league in the years he's been here. Pre-season he's been fantastic, but at the moment he hasn't gotten on the score sheet. He will score goals and eventually he will convert he's chances."

The red card that was issued to Felipe at the New England Revolution, the Red Bulls have not contacted the league to challenge it as each and every club gets two red card challenges a season. So that means Marsch will put Sean Davis in the line up to take on Sporting Kansas City. "We knew this year was going to be a bigger role for Sean than it was last year. He's already established inside our group, but with the way Felipe has played for us in a certain way Davis hasn't missed a beat and he will be able to make plays out there for us.

So the Red Bulls will be ready this coming Saturday to take on a Sporting Kansas City side that is hungry and ready to test a make shift backline and let's see what will happen as the depth will be severely tested against a solid side that can score at will.

UPDATE: Thad Bell of the Blue Testament has just tweeted that Brad Davis will be out for this weekend's game.