New York Red Bulls vs. Columbus Crew SC | 2016 MLS Match Preview

NEW YORK RED BULLS vs. COLUMBUS CREW SC
Red Bull Arena | Harrison, N.J.
Sunday, Oct. 16 | Week #33 | MLS Game #322
3 pm ET (MLS LIVE, MSG, Spectrum Sports OH, CW Columbus)

A key match in the Eastern Conference playoff picture is ahead as part of the Final Push to the Playoffs when the New York Red Bulls play host to Columbus Crew SC on Sunday afternoon at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls have already secured their ticket to the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs and now trying to lock down a Knockout Round bye -- and still have the Supporters' Shield in view -- following their 3-2 home win against Philadelphia Union last time out. Crew SC were officially eliminated from playoff contention at midweek, following their 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire on the road.

• The Red Bulls extended their undefeated run to 14 matches with a second consecutive victory, coming back for a 3-2 win against Philadelphia Union on Oct. 1 at Red Bull Arena. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his 21st goal to maintain a tie for leadership in the MLS Golden Boot standings; Wright-Phillips has goals in 11 of his last 13 games, dating back to July 24, with 12 goals in that time.
• Dilly Duka netted his first goal since Sept. 19 of last season, also adding his first assist of the year, in Crew SC’s 3-0 win against Chicago on Oct. 1. Justin Meram also added his ninth and 10th assists of the season; he had 13 assists combined over his first five MLS campaigns.
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Ola Kamara scored deep in stoppage time, canceling out a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal earlier in the second half as the teams settled for a 1-1 draw June 25 at MAPFRE Stadium.
• The Red Bulls won the lone league meeting between the teams at Red Bull Arena last year, a 2-1 win on Oct. 3, their first home win in the series since 2012. The teams split the two regular season meetings in Columbus, each winning by a 2-1 scoreline; the Red Bulls have taken points on six of their last eight visits to Columbus, dating back to 2011, with two victories there in that time.
• The teams met in a thrilling Eastern Conference Championship a year ago, Crew SC winning the first leg 2-0 at home, then holding the Red Bulls to a 1-0 win in the return match at Red Bull Arena to advance to MLS Cup.

REFEREE: Robert Sibiga. AR1 (bench): Jonathan Johnson; AR2 (opposite): Danny Thornberry; 4th: Nima Saghafi
MLS Career: 21 games; FC/gm: 23.4; Y/gm: 3.1; R: 5; pens: 6

SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: NYR: Connor Lade, Felipe Martins
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: NYR: Ronald Zubar, Chris Duvall -- CLB: Tony Tchani
DISABLED LIST: NYR: Gideon Baah (season-ending injury) -- CLB: Matt Pacifici, Ben Swanson (season-ending injury)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (64 meetings): Red Bulls 28 wins, 90 goals -- Crew SC 26 wins, 78 goals -- Ties 10
AT RED BULLS (31 meetings): Red Bulls 16 wins, 47 goals -- Crew SC 10 wins, 34 goals -- Ties 5

• Coaches record: Gregg Berhalter vs. NYR: P7 W2 L3 D2 -- Jesse Marsch vs. CLB: P7 W3 L3 D1

LAST MEETING [MLS]
6/25: CLB 1, NYR 1 (O. Kamara 93+ -- B. Wright-Phillips 52)

• The opener for the Red Bulls came in the 52nd minute, as Bradley Wright-Phillips made a run into open space in the penalty area to get his head on a well-placed cross from rookie midfielder Alex Muyl.
• But Crew SC again provided some late heroics, as Ola Kamara snuck in and deflected home a cross from Waylon Francis at close range three minutes into stoppage time for the equalizer.
• COLUMBUS CREW SC (4-2-3-1): Steve Clark - Harrison Afful, Michael Parkhurst, Tyson Wahl, Corey Ashe (Waylon Francis 71) - Wil Trapp, Tony Tchani - Ethan Finlay, Mohammed Saeid (Cristian Martinez 59), Justin Meram (Hector Jimenez 80) - Ola Kamara.
• NEW YORK RED BULLS (4-2-3-1): Luis Robles - Chris Duvall, Ronald Zubar, Gideon Baah, Connor Lade - Felipe Martins (Sean Davis 86), Dax McCarty - Alex Muyl, Sacha Kljestan (Sal Zizzo 70), Mike Grella - Bradley Wright-Phillips (Gonzalo Veron 82).