New York Red Bulls will put their unbeaten record on the line when they host Orlando City in an MLS clash at the Red Bull Arena. With both teams concerned with defending first, Saturday’s match looks set to be a low scoring contest.
Andres Reyes scored and got sent off as New York Red Bulls suffered a 3-1 defeat at New England last time out in the MLS. Playing much of the game with 10 men, they struggled to create chances and failed to build on their early lead.
It was the second straight defeat for New York Red Bulls, who were also beaten 1-0 by Philadelphia Union in their previous fixture. With both games coming on the road, manager Gerhard Struber will be pleased to be back at the Red Bull Arena where they have won their last two matches.
The Red Bulls often make themselves difficult to break down on their own turf and have kept clean sheets in their last two home matches.
Orlando City were victorious in their previous MLS fixture, knocking off Toronto 1-0. An early effort from Tesho Akindele was enough to seal the win as they stood firm at the back and beat back a number of attacks from their visitors.
Oscar Pareja’s men are one of two unbeaten teams left in the Eastern Conference and are second on the table. Their impressive start to the campaign has been driven by a solid defence that has seen them keep clean sheets in four of their six matches this season.
Orlando City also have a solid record on their travels and are unbeaten in their last five away matches across all competitions.
How the bookies view it
New York Red Bulls are slight favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 25/19 with Vbet. William Hill is offering 21/10 for a victory for Orlando City while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 by bet365.
With the Red Bulls often solid at home and Orlando still unbeaten this season, a draw looks to be on the cards on Saturday.
Head to head
New York Red Bulls have a slight advantage in this fixture with six wins from 15 previous matches. Orlando City have been victorious five times while both teams have battled to four stalemates, including a 1-1 draw in the most recent meeting at the Red Bull Arena.
Players to watch
New York Red Bulls are usually solid at the back when they play at home with clean sheets in their last two matches. Aaron Long and Sean Nealis often partner in central defence and will be hopeful of another clean sheet at 23/10 with Sporting Index.
Orlando City have one of the best defences in the MLS with Robert Jansson and Antonio Carlos their preferred central defensive partnership. They have kept clean sheets in four of their six matches this season and a repeat is priced at 11/4 at Sporting Index.
Anything else catch the eye?
With New York Red Bulls and Orlando City often tight at the back, under 2.5 goals could be considered at 19/20 with bet365. You could also back both teams to not score at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
Neither team to score is valued at 10/1 by Sporting Index.
This MLS match between New York Red Bulls and Orlando City will be played on May 29, 2021 and kick off at 18:00. Check below for our tipsters best New York Red Bulls vs Orlando City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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