Houston at New York – Saturday
Recommendation: New York -0.5 (-150)
Last week, New York took to the field in Columbus without six starters due to injuries and international call-ups. But on Saturday against Houston, the Red Bulls should have almost a full complement of players available for selection. New York will also be boosted by the return of Thierry Henry, who sat out last Saturday against the Crew with a slight hamstring injury. The Red Bulls have been very good at home compiling an 11-4-2 record since the start of the 2010 season. Houston on the other hand has not looked good. Last season they had one of the worst defenses in the league conceding 49 goals. This season they made a push to improve the defense and while it does look to be improved the offense has done very little. Last week’s 1-1 draw against Seattle was a bit misleading as they were badly outplayed and were lucky to come away with a point. Unlike the Sounders who have struggled to score goals this season the Red Bulls have the players who can finish. The one are of concern I had with this Red Bulls team was with their defense, which at times let them down last season. This year head coach Hans Backe says that the backline is better and no one can complain with two consecutive clean sheets to start the season.
