More Wins and Less Draws Needed for the Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls don’t play another MLS fixture until late August. The season has gone well so far but can they get out of the habit of drawing so many games? Some improved away form would be appreciated too.
Although the club is called New York Red Bulls, that hasn’t always been so. October sees the club celebrate 30 years since its formation and they were initially called the New Jersey Metrostars.
Since 2010, the club has been playing their home games at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Even so, when they play New York City FC, it’s known as the Hudson River Derby, a match to always look forward to.
Their only appearance in the MLS Cup final was 16 years ago. Three regular season titles have been won though, most recently in 2018. Can they repeat that feat this season?
Going into August, the Red Bulls sit fourth in the Eastern Conference of the MLS. They trail leaders Inter Miami by 12 points but look assured of reaching the play-offs.
The odds are heavily stacked in favor of Inter Miami to win the Eastern Conference as per some of the most prominent sportsbooks in New Jersey, such as betMGM sport. The Red Bulls are fourth in the betting list to overhaul the lead Inter have. In terms of winning the MLS Cup, the club are the seventh favorites to lift that trophy.
More wins and less draws would help their cause. 11 of their 25 games in the Eastern Conference have ended all-square. In the MLS only St Louis City have also drawn that number.
The high number of draws isn’t the only record that the Red Bulls currently hold in the MLS. Of their 12 home games, seven have been won and the other five drawn. That makes them the only side in all of the MLS who are yet to lose a match on home soil.
The New York Red Bulls are unbeaten in their last eight MLS fixtures. That’s good form or is it? Six of those matches have ended level and more games need to be won when the season resumes in late August.
They did at least win their last match in the Eastern Conference. That was on July 21 when beating Cincinnati at home 3-1. Lewis Morgan scored twice in that match to give the Red Bulls another home victory. That took his MLS total for the season up to 12.
When MLS action returns on August 25, the Red Bulls are on the road at Charlotte who are sixth in the Eastern Conference. While the Red Bulls are doing great at home, it’s a different story on the road.
Only three out of 13 matches have ended in victory with a negative goal difference of four. They’ve drawn their last three fixtures but haven’t won on the road in the MLS since mid-May.
Visiting Charlotte won’t be easy as the home side had gone six without a loss before losing to Miami. Five of those matches had seen them keep a clean sheet. A bet on under 2.5 goals in that match might be advisable.
The next MLS home game for the Red Bulls is on September 1 when Philadelphia Union are the visitors. They’re struggling in tenth place and only won three out of 12 away fixtures. Betting on several goals in the game looks like a good idea. The last four matches Union have played on the road have seen them score nine and concede 14. Three of those matches saw them concede four goals.
That match is followed by a home match against Sporting Kansas City on September 8. Another home win looks likely here as the visitors are struggling in the Western Conference. They only have two teams below them and are nine points adrift of the play-offs. With nine out of 13 matches on the road lost this season, the Red Bulls can get the win.
Betting on a successful return to MLS action certainly looks like a good move to make, especially on home soil.