New York Red Bulls are aiming to crank up the pressure on the frontrunners in the Eastern Conference as they host struggling Toronto FC on Sunday in the MLS. The Red Bulls often do their best work at home and should have too much for Toronto, who have been poor travellers this season.
It has not been a particularly smooth MLS campaign for New York Red Bulls, although they continue to battle near the top of the Eastern Conference. Despite claiming just six wins from their 15 league matches, they remain just three points off leaders and local rivals New York City.
New York Red Bulls head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a 2-0 defeat at Charlotte in their previous MLS fixture. They were completely dominated by the hosts and finished with just a single attempt on target throughout the contest.
Although manager Gerhard Struber is likely to be disappointed with the performance at Charlotte, he will still be confident ahead of Sunday clash given the Red Bulls’ recent record at home. They have won their last two matches at Red Bull Arena, with the most recent fixture a 4-1 victory over DC United.
While New York Red Bulls are battling near the top of the table, Toronto FC are hoping to avoid slipping further down the standings. They are currently 12th having claimed just four wins from their 14 MLS matches this season.
Toronto FC ended a seven-match winless run in the MLS with a 3-2 win over Chicago Fire in their previous fixture. Despite taking an early lead through Deandre Kerr, they were still made to come from behind, with Alejandro Pozuelo’s second half brace earning them the win.
One of the problems for Toronto is a poor record away from home where they are yet to win a match all season. Bob Bradley’s men have lost three of their last four away matches although they twice came from behind to battle to a 2-2 draw with DC United in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have New York Red Bulls as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 7/19 by SBK. An unlikely victory for Toronto FC is valued at odds of 42/5 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 4/1 by Unibet.
Head to head
New York Red Bulls have a 21-10 advantage with nine draws from 40 previous matches against Toronto FC. They claimed a 4-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in March and have also won the last four meetings at Red Bull Arena.
Players to watch
Patrick Kimala often leads the line for New York Red Bulls and having scored four goals this season could be backed at 5/4 by William Hill to get on the score sheet on Sunday. However, midfielder Lewis Morgan is the top scorer for the hosts with six goals, including a hat-trick in the reverse fixture and is valued at 11/8 by bet365 in the same market.
With top scorer Jesus Jimenez in the middle of a lengthy goal drought, Alejandro Pozuelo has stepped up in recent weeks. The midfielder has scored three times in his last two matches and is priced at 5/1 by bet365 to find the net on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Recent meetings have swung overwhelmingly in favour of New York Red Bulls and another one-sided victory could be on the cards. A -1 handicap can be considered at 19/20 by William Hill while the Red Bulls can also be tipped to score in both halves at 21/20 by Unibet.
New York Red Bulls are expected to be dominant on Sunday and could be tipped to win both halves at 43/20 with Unibet.
This MLS match between New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC will be played on Jun 19, 2022 and kick off at 00:00. Check below for our tipsters best New York Red Bulls vs Toronto FC prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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