Red Bulls Start Home Stand Against Philadelphia

The Red Bulls have a very packed schedule coming up over the next six days. Matches with the Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup as well as Chelsea and Benfica in the International Champions Cup all take place between now and Sunday. Luckily, they all occur at Red Bull Arena.

Starting first with the Union, the Red Bulls have a chance to move one step closer to their first ever U.S. Open Cup title today with their quarter-final match at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls are currently in good form having won five of their last six matches and will look to make it three in a row in the Open Cup. The Union will be the first MLS side the Red Bulls will face in the Cup, but they should be confident because they have an very solid home record this season — they’ve lost only twice in Red Bull Arena in 11 matches and remain undefeated at home in the Open Cup. One of the Red Bulls two losses at home this season did come at the hands of the Union so they will be looking to avenge this loss and reach the semi-finals.

The Red Bulls will undoubtedly put out their best lineup for today’s massive match which means when they play tomorrow against Chelsea a lot of the big names may miss out. Unfortunate as it is for fans hoping to see an exciting match in the International Champions Cup, the Red Bulls must focus their energy on a major prize and not a glorified friendly (and what amounts to no more than a pre-season warm up for Chelsea).

Come Sunday, however, it is a great chance for a more rested Red Bull team to take aim a big time European club.  The Red Bulls play Benfica on Sunday, so team members who played Tuesday should be restored. Following that match they won’t be playing again until the following Saturday so it will be a good opportunity to try and get a win in the ICC even though it doesn’t count for much.

The Red Bulls match against Philadelphia will be played at 4:00 on Tuesday afternoon.