Altanta United v New York Red Bulls Eastern Conference Finals Leg 1 | Preview

Atlanta United host the New York Red Bulls at Mercedes-Benz Stadium to open the first leg of the Eastern Conference Finals. The two best teams in the MLS face off in what is sure to be a classic series.

Atlanta defeating New York City FC by an aggregate score of 4-1. Atlanta earned a 1-0 victory at Yankee Stadium in Leg 1 on Nov. 4 and then advanced with a 3-1 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

New York Red Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference finals when they defeating Columbus Crew SC 3-1 on aggregate. The New York Red Bulls responded with a 3-0 win at Red Bull Arena after falling behind 0-1 in the first leg in Columbus.

Broadcast Details
TV: ESPN, TSN
English Radio: 92-9 The Game (local)
Spanish Radio: La Mejor 1600 AM

Pre-match coverage:
4:00 p.m.: AT&T Countdown to Kickoff (FB Live/Periscope)
4:30 p.m.: The Pre-Game show (92-9 The Game)

Atlanta United

Squad Details

Atlanta looks to be at as close to full strength as possible. They will still be without several reserves including forward Romario Williams who will miss the remaining matches due to a ligament injury in his left ankle.

There are possibility of some tired legs as several key players traveled to globe for international duty during the break. The list includes: goalie Brad Guzan, midfielder Miguel Almirón, plus forwards Tito Villalba and Josef Martínez.

• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution:Eric Remedi, Hector Villalba, Josef Martinez, Franco Escobar, Miles Robinson
• International duty: None
• Injury Report:
  • Out:
    • Sal Zizzo (right knee injury)
    • Mikey Ambrose (right knee surgery)
    • Brandon Vazquez (foot injury)
  • Questionable:
    • Chris McCann (left quad strain)

Projected Starting XI
(3-5-2)

• GK: Brad Guzan
• Defenders (3): Franco Escobar, Michael Parkhurst, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez
• Midfielders (5): Greg Garza, Eric Remedi, Darlington Nagbe, Jeff Larentowicz, Julian Gressel
• Forwards (2): Josef Martínez, Miguel Almiron

New York Red Bulls

Squad Details

• Suspended:
• Suspended after next caution: Sean Davis
• International duty: None
• Injury Report:
  • Out:
    • Florian Valot (torn left ACL)
    • Kyle Duncan (torn right ACL)
    • Vincent Bezecourt (right MCL surgery)
    • Tommy Redding (shoulder surgery)
    • Ben Mines (broken left clavicle surgery)
  • Questionable:
    • none

Projected Starting XI
(4-1-4-1)

• GK: Luis Robles
• Defenders (4): Michael Murillo, Tim Parker, Aaron Long, Kemar Lawrence
• Defensive Midfielders (1): Tyler Adams
• Attacking Midfielders (4): Danny Royer, Kaku, Marc Rzatkowski, Alex Muyl
• Forwards (1): Bradley Wright-Phillips

Recent Meetings
New York Red Bulls 2 Atlanta United 0(September 30, 2018)
Atlanta United 1 New York Red Bulls 3 (May 10, 2018)
New York Red Bulls 0 Atlanta United 0 (October 15, 2017)
Atlanta United 1 New York Red Bulls 2 (March 5, 2017)