RED BULLS-CREW PRE-GAME

Good evening and thanks for joining us tonight as your Red Bulls face the Columbus Crew in a top of the table clash at Crew Stadium. It is warm and sunny here in Ohio’s capital as New York hopes to extend its unbeaten streak to six, while the Crew looks to get back to winning ways after falling to Kansas City, 1-0, on Wednesday. For the Red Bulls, who are currently at 26 points and two behind the Crew, a win would give them first place in the Eastern Conference.

Here is the lineup for the Red Bulls:

———–Angel———-Richards———

Miller—Lindpere—-Stammler-Ubiparipovic

Borman——-Ream—–Mendes—Sassano

——————Coundoul——————-

Substitutes: Sutton, Petke, Chinn, Robinson, Hall, Tchani, Kandji

A few notes to get you started:
– Late update: Chris Albright out of the original starting lineup after feeling his right knee in warm-up. Luke Sassano takes his place at right back and Jeremy Hall takes Sassano’s place on the bench.
–  The Red Bulls are coming into the match on a five game unbeaten streak and are 3-0-2. They most recently tied D.C. United, 0-0, last Saturday at Red Bull Arena, helping them win the Atlantic Cup.
–          Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe made one change from their lineup that faced D.C. United, with Roy Miller coming in for the injured Salou Ibrahim (right foot sprain). It is Miller’s first start since a 3-2 loss on May 29 at against New England.
–          Carl Robinson traveled and could make a second half appearance. He missed time after he underwent surgery on May 26 to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee.
–          Macoumba Kandji could make an impact after making his return for the first time in almost three months last Saturday, playing the final 14 minutes.
–          New Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry is in the audience tonight. Henry flew in today and participated in the team stretch and pre-game meal. He is expected to make his debut on Thursday against old rival, Tottenham Hotspur, at Red Bull Arena in the Barclays New York Challenge.

Columbus, which defeated New York 3-1 on May 20 at Red Bull Arena, is playing its third game in eight days and shuffled its lineup from Wednesday. Here is their Starting XI:

———-Schelotto———Renteria——-

Gaven————Moffat————Ekpo

—————–Carroll———————

O’Rourke—Iro—Marshall——Hejduk

—————–Hesmer———————

Substitutes: Gruenebaum, Francis, Padula, Brunner, Rogers, Oughton, Garey

Kickoff is at 7:30 PM and will be televised live on MSG, with Steve Cangialosi and Shep Messing calling the game! We’ll be doing live commentary on the match via our Twitter account (@newyorkredbulls). Enjoy the match!