Finally, 3 months after being eliminated in the playoffs against the Philadelphia Union last November, Red Bulls are set to open the 27th MLS regular season on the road, as they face the San Jose Earthquakes.
The 2022 season will be their second year under Head Coach Gerhard Struber, after finishing his inaugural season in New York with a 13-12-9 record with 48 PTS. Enough to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference as the 7th seed.
The real positive for Red Bull was that they finished the year strong before their loss to Philly, earning 25 PTS with a record of 7-1-4 in their final 12 games as they made the playoffs for a 12th consecutive season.
But heading into this new season, Struber has attempted to set the bar low in terms of overall expectations for NY. “It is unfair to the players to speak about trophies.” Not what you want to hear from your manager less than a week away from the start of the season.
From a fan's perspective though, every year that goes by without a Cup is another year that goes down as a failure. But to be fair to the manager, Red Bull will be running out, game-to-game, the youngest lineup in MLS, with an average age of 22.03.
Onto matchday one, the Red Bulls are set to take on San Jose, who finished in 10th place with a 10-13-11 record missing the playoffs with 41 PTS.
New York and San Jose will face off for the 41st time on MD1, with San Jose leading the series with a 17-14-9 record. Red Bulls though have won four out of the last five meetings against the Earthquakes, with Red Bull defeating San Jose 4-1 last time out in 2019 at Red Bull Arena.
Unfortunately for the season opener and possibly the first few games, Red Bull will have some big omissions from the starting XI for Red Bull as both Tom Edwards (Visa & Injury?) and Luquinhas (Visa) will be missing.
So here is the projected lineup that Struber could roll out for MD1.
Frankie Amaya & Lewis Morgan.
Klimala will be entering his second season with Red Bull but this time he got to have a full offseason & preseason with the whole squad. The Polish ST in 21’ posted 8G & 6A in 29GP for the Red team in NY and will be looking to double that number this season as he sets his sights on the Golden Boot and the Polish national team.
Amaya was a different story for Red Bull last season after being traded to NY from Cincinnati for 950K GAM. Last season, Amaya featured 22 times but mostly from the bench, only recording 836 minutes, while only scoring once and providing one assist all of 2021.
The 21 Y/O attacking midfielder from Santa Ana, CA will be looking for a breakout year under Struber and what a better way to show you should be a starter in NY is a great showing in your home state of California.
Last but not least, look out for newcomer Lewis Morgan who will be putting on the red & white for the first time against San Jose. He’s a player to watch simply for the fact that he will most likely be playing out of position at RB until Tom Edwards gets to the US and he is fully 90 minutes fit.
Morgan did play as a RWB last season for Inter Miami and can play the position, but he is more effective when he has the freedom to go forward and not worry about keeping the ball out of his net.
Now for a preview of what San Jose could look like on opening day, here’s how they may lineup.
If you want a full preview from a San Jose perspective or just want to get some more insight on how MD1 could go for Red Bull, check out Favian Renkel on Twitter, Area Sports San Jose insider, as we recorded a Twitter Space previewing the game.
https://twitter.com/FavianRenkel/status/1495594711016697857?s=20&t=USpOWGhZeNOl5N0OVAjYAg
Two players to watch out for are Jeremy Ebobisse & Cristain Espinoza. Ebobisse throughout his MLS career has been an up & down goal scorer scoring 24 times in 96GP, but if he gets a chance will make you pay.
Espinoza on the other hand could be in for a big game going up against LB John Tolkin as Tolkin isn’t the fastest player but that’s Espinoza’s biggest strength as he will stretch the backline down. You add that Red Bull will be running four at the back, Tolkin won’t have the cover of an extra CB when he goes forward so he will have to be positional sound or Red Bull will be in for a tough day defensively.
Now with all that out of the way it is time for a prediction. Based on how the team finished this preseason, the switch from the 3-4-2-1 to a 4-3-3 (or 4-2-3-1) could take some time to get used to.
This will be an up & down the field game for both teams and it could come down to who takes their chances. Final score San Jose 3, Red Bulls 2! #NYisRED
Game Information:
Where: PayPal Park; San Jose, California
When: Saturday, February 26; Coverage @ 5:30 PM EST with the Red Bulls Pregame show with Kick-Off set for 6:00 PM EST
How To Watch: MSG (TV), MSG GO (Streaming)
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