“Baah in the USSR” - RBNY predicted XI: vs NYC FC, MLS 2017, Match 25

Last Friday Jesse Marsch benched more than half of his starters following a grueling 120-minute performance against FC Cincinnati just three days before. The Red Bulls lost that game 2-0 to Portland, but got some much-needed tape on the team’s new acquisitions like Fidel Escobar, Dilly Duka and Vincent Bezecourt.

OF course, we all remember that the last time Marsch rested players for a game against a Western Conference foe, the team they were rested for ended up running him out of the building.

Unfortunately, the plan still resulted in Aurelien Collin sustaining an injury that could keep him out for a while. And with NYC FC coming to town for the third time this year, the Red Bulls will need all hands on deck to make up for his absence.

Here is the RBNY predicted XI vs NYC FC:

GK Luis Robles

DF Aaron Long

DF Fidel Escobar - Was his performance in the losing effort against Portland enough to get a starting job? No. But did Collin’s injury open up a spot for him to take? Absolutely.

DF Michael Amir Murillo

WB Kemar Lawrence

WB Tyler Adams

DM Felipe

AM Sean Davis

AM Sacha Kljestan

AM Alex Muyl

FW Bradley Wright-Phillips - The Red Bulls will need another big game out of BWP to have a chance in this one.

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With ten games remaining this last rivalry game between the Red Bulls and NYC FC could be big when it comes to final playoff seeding. A win for the Red Bulls would vault them over Chicago into 3rd place - and if they were to maintain that spot for the remainder of the season, it could potentially mean two more games between these two in the MLS Cup play-offs.

On the other hand, any result favoring NYC FC will leave the Red Bulls in a dog fight for the playoffs for the remainder of the season - especially with road games against Toronto FC and Chicago on the horizon.

What do you think?