MLS Soccer Predictions – Seattle Sounders vs New York Red Bulls
In Major League Soccer’s ESPN Game of the Week, the New York Red Bulls will have a chance to show off their talented offense when they travel to the Emerald City to kick off against the Seattle Sounders in a matchup of two top-tier teams.
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Date/Time: Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 10:00 PM
Venue: Quest Field in Seattle, Washington
Broadcast: ESPN2
Seattle v New York Betting Lines
Money Line: OFF
Spread: OFF
Over/Under: 2 ½
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The Red Bulls will hope for the same result in this week’s reversal match after they defeated Seattle 1-0 in their first meeting back on March 19.
In that first meeting, New York dominated in the possession category, and had 10 corner kicks, while Seattle gave up 11 fouls and three offside penalties, hampering their ability to find the equalizer and force the draw.
New York leads the Eastern Conference with 23 points heading into Thursday night’s matchup, while Seattle is third in the Western Conference with 25 points behind FC Dallas and MLS Leader the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Seattle, a team that is known for their late game heroics, scoring their most goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation, will have to hold off one of the best scorers in the entire MLS if they wish to have a chance to do what they do best.
Red Bulls’ forward Thierry Henry, the French phenom, is tied for first in goals with Los Angeles’ Landon Donovan with eight, and will look to redeem himself after receiving a red card in the team’s last game–a 3-3 draw at expansion Portland.
Henry has fallen off the pace a long way since his 30-goal season with Arsenal in the Premier League in 2003-04, but the 33 year old has shown all year that he still has what it takes to be a top-tier scorer in the MLS.
He is helped in his offense by way of forward Luke Rodgers, who has five goals during the season, and has proven an excellent second option behind one of the best scorers the game has ever seen. [ad-3678122]
New York will also have one of the best players in terms of assists on the field in midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, who has five strikes behind only David Beckham of Los Angeles and Brad Davis of Houston. Rosario was also the hero in New York’s last game against Portland, when he scored on a penalty kick to force the 3-3 draw.
Seattle keeper, Kasey Keller, will be up for the challenge against New York’s stellar combination, having not conceded a single goal in any of his 17 starts during the season.
Good for the Sounders who have been typically a low scoring team, with their leading scorer, midfielder Brad Evans, having netted just four goals. Fredy Montero of Seattle has been a letdown all year, having taken 47 shots with just three finding the back of the net.
New York is known for scoring early, and if Seattle wants to hold them off, they will have to play tough defense and not allow Henry to get into a flow.
Matt’s Free Prediction: New York –
Although the standings would indicate otherwise, New York is by far the superior team in this matchup. They have arguably the best scorer in the entire league in Henry, and I don’t expect Seattle to be able to keep up.
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