Many people thought that the losses of superstars Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill, and coach Mike Petke meant the downfall of the New York Red Bulls, but they seem to be doing well without them. So far, the Red Bulls are undfeated through five games to start the MLS season, maching their longest unbeaten streak to start a season since 2007. Today they look to break that record by making it six games against the LA Galaxy.
Today marks the return of former Red Bull great Juan Pablo Angel to Red Bull Arena as him and the Galaxy are looking to spoil the Red Bulls' party. The Red Bulls are coming off of a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes at home. This marked their first home game in nearly a month, and they delivered an excellent showing for their fans. The goals were scored by new boys Sacha Kljestan and Mike Grella for New York. Meanwhile, the Galaxy are coming off of a victory themselves at home against Sporting Kansas City. Baggio Husidic of the Galaxy and Krisztian Nemeth of Sporting both scored in the first half, but it wasn't until Omar Gonzalez's late redirection off a Juninho free-kick until the winner was scored.
Currently both teams stand on eleven points, but the Galaxy have played two more games than New York. The head-to-head in this matchup is tight as each team boasts seven wins against each other in their history. The recent matchup has been just as close as well as each team has won three games in their last six meetings. With this matchup being a showdown of two of the leagues premier teams from the largest markets across the United States, expect a hotly contested affair.
Team News:
Los Angeles Galaxy: Robbie Keane is the most notable absence for the defending MLS Cup champions as he is nursing a groin injury. Leonardo and Jose Villarreal are questionable.
New York Red Bulls: Ronald Zubar is out with a slight hamstring injury. Lloyd Sam is day-to-day nursing a hamstring injury.