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MLS Preview: New York Red Bulls v. D.C. United
New York Red Bulls (5-6-9, 24 pts) vs. D.C. United (13-2-6, 45 pts)
When: 7:30 pm ET, Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Where: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey





It’s been talked about for weeks, but it’s finally time for head coach Bruce Arena to lead the New York Red Bulls against his former club, D.C. United. After an opening week draw, the Black-and-Red crushed New York 4-1 three weeks later. Redeeming themselves won’t be easy with Seth Stammler and Danny O’Rourke suspended for the match. But with the recent addition of gritty midfielder Dema Kovalenko and Youri Djorkaeff’s return from personal leave, there will be help. Look for Kovalenko to get the nod in defensive midfield with O’Rourke out and Mark Lisi injured. Mike Magee will likely replace Stammler, but whether he plays in the midfield or at forward will depend on where Arena chooses to play Djorkaeff.

Last we saw United in a MLS match they suffered their first loss in fifteen matches in a 2-1 defeat in Salt Lake. Still, with a U.S. Open Cup win against Columbus and an impressive 1-1 draw against Real Madrid since, there is hardly cause for concern. A repeat performance of their last trip to the Meadowlands to spoil Bruce Arena’s MLS home opener against their rivals would be extra special for the organization, and more importantly their fans. With no injuries or suspensions to speak of, Peter Nowak and the Black-and-Red look to continue their already impressive season.

It’s safe to say that the Red Bulls are not the same team they were when United beat them up earlier this season. Now undefeated in their last four and with a couple of weeks of training from Arena, the question will be how much have they really changed? Will the wide-open play New York showed in their exhibition loss against Barcelona be on display? Not likely, but B.A. Baracus will certainly be pushing this team to be more offensive then they have been. He will make them a better team, but they still have a long way to go before they are better than this D.C. team. It’s doubtful Arena will be able to come close to that this season.

Goal.com Prediction: New York Red Bulls 1, D.C. United 2