Rivals Square Off In MLS Game of the Week
The New York Red Bulls will travel to RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. tonight, to take on DC United in the MLS game of the week. The match will be aired live on ESPN2, and will start at 8PM Eastern.
The game features many MLS stars and US National Team players. The Red Bulls feature former world player of the year Thierry Henry at striker, former Barcelona star Rafa Marquez in the midfield, and up and coming national team stars Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo. The Red Bulls also recently acquired Canadian star Dwayne DeRosario in a trade from Toronto FC. DC United has Charlie Davies at forward, who is on loan from Sochaux. Davies has five goals in four games so far this year.
The rivalry renewed will be the first installment of this year’s Atlantic Cup, which is the trophy that is awarded to the winner of the regular season series between the two teams. The Red Bulls are the current holders of the trophy, after winning last year’s series with a 2-0 win in the first game, and a 0-0 draw in the second game. However, DC United has dominated the rivalry overall, winning 7 out of the 9 Atlantic Cups since the cup was organized.
The Red Bulls sit second in the Eastern Conference standings with 8 points, one spot behind the surprising Philadelphia Union who lead the Eastern Conference on 10 points. DC United is fifth in the conference with 7 points from five games. A win for each team would be big, even though it’s still very early in the season.
It would be easy to predict a Red Bulls win, with all of the great players and talent that they have. However, it’s still very early in the season, and I don’t think that they’ve particularly found their groove yet as a team. Both teams are coming off 3-0 wins in their last games, and I think that we might see more of the same tonight. With DC United playing at home, and Charlie Davies in great form, I’ll predict a 3-2 high scoring affair, and DC United coming out on top.
