John Tolkin is back in the lineup and in the Starting XI for the first in a few weeks as the New York Red Bulls take on Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday night at Red Bull Arena.
Tolkin returns to the back line of Cameron Harper, Sean Nealis, Andrés Reyes and Kyle Duncan.
The Red Bulls are currently on a five-match unbeaten streak at Red Bull Arena dating back to last season. The Red Bulls have posted a 3-0-2 mark in that timespan.
Cristian Cásseres Jr. and Daniel Edelman lock down the defensive midfield.
Omir Fernandez, Cory Burke and Tom Barlow push the attack.
Barlow scored his first goal of the season in New York’s 1-1 draw against San Jose Earthquakes on April 8. Barlow has scored 12 career MLS goals. Burke has one career goal against Houston Dynamo FC in two matches. Burke will be making his 100th career MLS appearance on Saturday.
Carlos Coronel starts in goal.
Off the bench, Head Coach Gerhard Struber will have Elias Manoel, Wiki Carmona, Dru Yearwood, Peter Stroud, Jayden Reid, Dylan Nealis, Hassan Ndam and Ryan Meara available as substitutes.
Luquinhas, Frankie Amaya, Lewis Morgan, Serge Ngoma, Matt Nocita and Steve Sserwadda will all miss the match due to injuries.
This will be the 27th overall regular season meeting between New York and Houston, with New York holding the advantage in the overall series with a 12-6-8 record. The Red Bulls have posted a 10-0-3 mark at home against the Dynamo, including an 8-0-1 mark at Red Bull Arena. They have won the last seven regular season matches against the Dynamo at Red Bull Arena, outscoring them, 15-3. This will be the first time Houston has come to Red Bull Arena since August 29, 2018.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV and New York Red Bulls Radio in English via TuneIn, the New York Red Bulls app, and NewYorkRedBulls.com.
Coverage on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. Steve Cangialosi will have the primary play-by-play responsibilities and will be alongside Danny Higginbotham on the English side, while Juan Arrango will have the play-by-play responsibilities alongside Carlos Suarez on the Spanish broadcast. New York Red Bulls Radio begins at 7 p.m. ET with Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Honda, hosted by Matt Harmon and Steve Jolley.
