New York at Philadelphia
Recommendation: New York pk (-121)
I made a play on New York last week against Houston and was disappointed not to come away with a victory as the Red Bulls dominated the second half of what ended up being a 1-1 draw. New York was very lethargic in the first half but after Dwayne De Rosario came in the second half they stepped up their game. The Red Bulls played nearly the entire second half in Houston territory and outshot the Dynamo 22-9. We should get a full game out of De Rosario this week and I expect both Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez to rebound from last week’s poor performance.
As for Philadelphia, it looks like the defense has improved quite a bit but the offense remains below average. Last week against the Galaxy the Union failed to register a shot on goal. This should be somewhat concerning considering they played the final 45 minutes with a man advantage. The Red Bull defense leads the MLS conceding only one goal in three matches this season and it will be tough for the Union offense to break through against this team. New York is starting to resemble an all-star team and even though they are out on the road they have by far the better talent and should come away with all three points.
