NEW YORK RED BULLS- SEATTLE SOUNDERS Nightmare season so far for New York, in what is a big fall from grace, they are bottom of their division and have not won in five starts, losing four, although the last three have all been difficult road games. The last was in Toronto, where, after trailing 2-0 at the break, they showed great spirit to get back in the game and were unlucky not to earn a share of the spoils. That was at least a short trip home and they have had a free week , with no distractions, to prepare for this vital game.
We discussed Seattle before their opener, that preview is reproduced below and was actually the reverse fixture. They have made a great start to MLS life, but have struggled a little in recent weeks, with just one win in eight starts. That came by the narrowest of margins against another struggler, San Jose, whom NY thumped in a recent home start.
Seattle will not be at their freshest , as they played a home game just three days ago, which means a 3,000 mile cross country trip in the meantime.
Massive game for New York, they have not played at home since the end of May, gates have dropped and they need to kick start their season. I think that we will see a very committed performance from them and a home win.
6 points New York -1/4 ball 2.04 asian line.
Good Luck.USA MLS
SEATTLE SOUNDERS - NEW YORK RED BULLS
The new MLS season gets underway early Friday morning, I was going to wait a couple of weeks before even looking at any games from a betting point of view, but this game has caught my attention.
Seattle are an expansion club, which means that they have been added to the league, to increase the size of the MLS. New clubs usually struggle to begin with, but the Sounders have big ambitions and the league will be eager for them to do well, with the two clubs lined up to next join the MLS, also coming from the North West area, Portland and Vancouver.
It is important to the overall progress of the game in the US, that Seattle do well. They have sold 20,000 season tickets and this opener is a 32,400 sell out and will be carried live on national television. The Sounders have appointed Sigi Schmid as head coach, they could hardly have a more experienced man at the helm, as he led Columbus Crew to the title last year, where his team beat the Bulls in the final. He has assembled a good mixture of young/promising and experienced players, including new Colombian striker Fredy Montero, Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg, in a very offensive looking team. They played twelve pre season games and only failed to score in two, one of which was an away game in Argentina and the other a match where there was no continuity, as the whole team was changed at half time.
Lots of changes at the Red Bulls, despite finishing runner up last year, ten squad players have left and they have tried to improve the overall quality and give themselves a chance to go all the way this time. However, it might take some time for everyone to gel and they could have as few as five starters from the November final, whicjh is a big turnover in just four months. I like the newcomers to record a win, this will create massive interest in the region and give the MLS the early season boost it needs.
5.5 points Seattle Sounders -1/4 ball 2.13 asian line..... won 3-0
Good Luck.
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