Everything you need to know ahead of Sounders-Red Bull

The Seattle Sounders will be looking to end a 10-game league winless streak when they host Red Bull New York on Saturday. Although Red Bull are currently in a playoff spot, a recent slump has them below the Sounders in the Supporters’ Shield standings.

Here’s what you need to know:

Injury news

Sounders

OUT: Pedro de la Vega — Quad; Jesús Ferreira — Hamstring; Yeimar Gómez Andrade — Calf; Nikola Petković — Knee; Jackson Ragen — Knee

Red Bull

None

Opposition players to watch

Julian Hall: With nine goals and three assists, the 18-year-old is already turning a lot of heads. But after a hot start that culminated with a hat trick on May 13, he’s now gone nine straight without a goal and seven straight without a goal contribution. That said, he’s deadly in open space and has speed for days.

Adri Mehmeti: Another teenaged phenom, who has been given a ton of responsibility under Michael Bradley, Mehmeti has sometimes been compared to Sergio Busquets. That's probably a bit much at this point, but he is an impressive passer who is both clean and aggressive.

Stats to look smart

44 – Red Bull have attempted 44 throughballs this year, more than all but two other teams. Combined with their penchant for pressing, you can rest assured there will be a lot of action.

20 – The Sounders, by contrast, have only attempted 20 throughballs and are generally one of the more methodical teams.

Tactics to impress

Under first-year MLS coach Michael Bradley, Red Bull have attempted to refine their system a bit. While they are still very direct – they are second in the league in direct attacks – they aren’t quite as aggressive on the defensive end as they used to be.
After a couple of years of quietly becoming one of the more aggressive defensive teams, the Sounders have dropped back considerably this year. They now are far more prone to get into a midblock and pass the ball around. The Sounders actually rank dead last in direct attacks.