The second of the 2017 Major League Soccer games to be played is between New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC. New York Red Bulls have the home advantage for the first leg, as they are the team who finished lower in the Eastern Conference standings at the end of the regular season. In fact, New York Red Bulls finished in 6th place, which was the final qualifying spot.
In contrast, Toronto FC had their place in the Conference Semi-final sealed long before the end of the regular season and they topped the Eastern Conference comfortably by 12 points from second place New York City FC.
MLS Conference Semifinals, Game 1, Tuesday, 31 October, 00:00, Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
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Draw Best Odd of: 11/5 at Betway |
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New York Red Bulls Form
New York Red Bulls claimed the final playoff place in the Eastern Conference and claimed 50 points from their 34 games, which is 19 points less than their opponents in this match.
They were forced to play in the knockout round of the playoffs away from home to Chicago Fire, which was always going to be a tough match at the team who finished third. However, New York Red Bulls turned on the style and won through thanks to an excellent 4-0 victory.
Therefore, they will be full of confidence going into this first leg in-front of their own fans and have remained undefeated in their last 4 games, winning 3 of them. New York Red Bulls have lost only 1 of their last 11 home MLS games, which came back in June.
Toronto FC Form
There is no denying Toronto FC were the best team in the regular season and they won the Eastern Conference with plenty to spare. Not only that but they topped the overall standings and won the Supporters’ Shield by a huge margin.
However, form dipped a little towards the end of the regular season, with defeats against Montreal impact and New England Revolution, teams they would expect to defeat comfortably. Having said that, Toronto FC are unbeaten in their last 3 MLs games and one of those was a 4-2 home win against upcoming opponents New York Red Bulls.
Away from home, Toronto FC have lost only 1 of their last 8 matches and have tasted defeat only 4 times on the road all season in the Eastern Conference. Toronto FC have scored in each of their last 9 away MLS games.
Team News
New York Red Bulls do not have any players suspended by will be without Gideon Baah, Mike Grella and Aurelien Collin due to injury. There is also a doubt over the fitness of defender Kemar Lawrence.
Toronto FC make the short trip to New York with a clean bill of health, having enjoyed time for players to recover before this match. They are expected to start with three at the back and Jozy Altidore up-front, with support from Sebastian Giovinco.
Top Betting Tips
New York Red Bulls have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 4 games but come up against a team who love to score goals away from home. This makes the both teams to score market tempting and you can back both teams to find the back of the net at 8/15 with Ladbrokes.
Toronto FC have defeated New York Bulls just once in their last 11 attempts and this suggests the victory in this first leg may just be out of reach. However, a draw would be a decent result to take back to Canada and you can get 12/5 with Ladbrokes for the math to finish level.
Austrian midfielder Daniel Royer has been a key player for New York Red Bulls this season and if he is at his best, they have a chance to cause an upset. Royer has 13 goals to his name and can be backed at 7/2 with Ladbrokes to score at any time.