RBNY Heads to BMO Field For Bounce-Back Test Against Toronto FC

Following their first loss of the season at home against CF Montreal, Red Bull New York will look to get back into the win column on Saturday, Mar. 14 when they take on Toronto FC at BMO Field. 

The match represents a homecoming for former Toronto FC captain and current RBNY Head Coach Michael Bradley, who spent 10 seasons with the Reds from 2014 to 2023.

Toronto is the mirror image of the Red Bulls this season, having lost their first two matches before making a statement in a 1-0 road win over FC Cincinnati last weekend. 

With a shiny new Designated Player striker potentially making his club debut in what will be TFC's Home Opener, let's take a closer look at what's shaping up to be a tasty early season matchup:

A Look at Toronto FC From South of the Border...

The "Kicking and Screaming" era of Playing the Italians in Toronto is over and there's a new look for Robin Fraser's club. With Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi gone, the club opened the doors for players like Daniel Salloi, who scored the lone goal in TFC's 1-0 win over FC Cincy, and more notably, former Norwich City and USMNT striker Josh Sargent. The deal to snag Sargent was the third most expensive incoming transfer in Major League Soccer history ($22 million with incentivees that could bring the deal to $27 million) and he is expected to make his club debut in front of the home fans on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the team that is going to be playing around Sargent has been competent through the first three matches, despite dropping their second game of the season to reigning Western Conference Champions Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0. Despite still dealing with some injuries (most significantly to winger Theo Corbeanu and left back Matheus Pereira), Toronto has a more complete team on paper than they have had since Bradley was bossing the midfield for the club in the late 2010s.

Walker Zimmerman is the anchor on the backline, playing alongside former Arsenal youth center back Zane Monlouis and Canadian international full back Richie Laryea. With Pereira still unavailable, it's possible Toronto starts the match with former Red Bulls left back Raheem Edwards on the pitch (and with Corbeanu out, the lineup could feature a left flank of former Red Bulls with Derrick Etienne Jr. an option at the left wing position).

The midfield is Toronto's most improved area on the pitch, with former LAFC standout Jose Cifuentes joining club legend Jonathan Osorio in a deep-lying double pivot with DP attacking midfielder Djordje Mihailovic given the ability to roam free in the final third and create. What has been missing for Mihailovic is dynamic players in front of him in the attack to provide service to, but new arrivals in Salloi and Sargent are just that.

Luka Gavran is one of the more inexperienced goalkeepers in MLS, but his looked the part of a starting goalkeeper in his three matches so far.

As for depth, Toronto will be at a disadvantage in this area due to injuries, but still has some quality players to pick from off the bench, such as midfielder Alonso Coello, defenders Kobe Franklin and Kosi Thompson and striker Deandre Kerr.

PROJECTED TORONTO FC STARTING LINEUP (4-3-3):

GK L. Gavran

RB R. Laryea

CB Z. Monlouis

CB W. Zimmerman

LB R. Edwards

CDM J. Cifuentes

CM J. Osorio

CAM D. Mihailovic

RW D. Salloi

ST J. Sargent

LW D. Etienne Jr.

Can Red Bull New York bounce back?

Everything was shaping up for the Red Bulls to sink CF Montreal en route to their first three-win start to a season in club history, but perhaps RBNY's eyes were bigger than their stomachs as everything went wrong from the opening whistle. A 3-0 loss at home to then last-place Montreal can be enough to undo all of the positive work (and, let's face it, PR from the U.S. Soccer world) that the club's youngster managed to provide in matches one and two.

Their job on Saturday will be to get back on track. Yes, everyone looked out of sorts in that humbling defeat, but it represents an early lesson for this young and newly put together group. It'd be hard to point at a player who did especially well in that match, but there quite a few talking points that emerged from the performance. Primarily, without Ronald Donkor in midfielder, this team really struggles to find another pace-setter, and it's becoming more clear that Bradley doesn't see Gustav Berggren as a potential solution as one of the 8s.

Julian Hall did as well as he could playing in an unnatural midfield position while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting got his first start up top, but it just didn't look like either of them were comfortable in the game. Cade Cowell and Jorge Ruvalcaba continued to push the issues down the flanks but couldn't connect with any crosses or find themselves in meaningful positions in front of goal. Justin Che didn't look as much of a defensive force with Robert Voloder next to him instead of Dylan Nealis in the first two games. Likewise, it was a step down from the excellent showings of the first couple matches from left back Matty Dos Santos and goalkeeper Ethan Horvath.

If Donkor and Nealis are healthy, I expect them to go right back into the starting eleven and make their imprint on the game early. If not, New York will have to get creative about being effective in their aggressive/direct, possession heavy system.

While the club is still missing a couple of big impact substitutes in Mohammed Sofo and Cameron Harper, their depth pieces have performed admirably in their several cameos thus far. Particularly, Juan Mina has looked like a reliable force off the bench at the right back position and Rafael Mosquera came on against Montreal and looked like the only player who wanted to score.

What will be especially difficult for New York in this game is how they manage Sargent. Not necessarily known for his frame, Sargent does some of his best work in the air, winning duels and scoring headers. Prince Owusu won 100% of his aerial duels against Voloder and Che last week.

Not to mention, Sargent will be the first elite striker (by MLS standards, of course) that the Red Bulls defense is going to be tasked with handling (Leo Campana didn't play for New England). If he can get going early in his Toronto tenure, that could spell doom for New York.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP FOR RED BULL NEW YORK (4-3-3):

GK E. Horvath

RB J. Marshall-Rutty

CB J. Che

CB R. Voloder

LB M. Dos Santos

CDM A. Mehmeti

CM R. Donkor

CM E. Forsberg

RW C. Cowell

ST J. Hall

LW J. Ruvalcaba

Score Prediction

I'm going for a 1-1 draw. If the Red Bulls can contain Sargent, I think they'll be able to sneak away with a point. Yes, Toronto have other weapons but I expect the Red Bulls to have the bulk of possession and for the majority of the match to spent in the TFC end. 

Breaking down that Toronto defense will be difficult, but as long as they don't make the same glaring errors as they did against Montreal, they have every right to be in the match. 

Sargent will get one in his MLS debut and I think it's finally the time for one of the RBNY wingers to make a splash, let's say Cowell scores for New York.