Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls

Time waits for no man, and it certainly doesn’t wait for Orlando City as the team has another game on Sunday after a cross country trip to Portland.

This week’s opponents are the New York Red Bulls, which means that I caught up with Dan Feuerstein from Once a Metro. He gave me an update on how the Red Bulls have been doing.

It’s been a pretty successful season so far for New York and the team currently sits third in the Eastern Conference. What’s been the key to that success?

Dan Feuerstein: The truth is that the Red Bulls had a great run with their young players from their USL Championship side, Red Bulls 2, as well as normally reserve players. Brian White, Tom Barlow, Cristian Casseres Jr., and backup center back Amro Tarek have done a great job coming in to play and have made solid decisions. When certain players were out due to injury or suspension, the entire team stepped up and earned the results.

When we last spoke, you identified Marc Rzatkowski as the man who would immediately help fill the void left by the departure of Tyler Adams. Has that turned out to be the case?

DF: Marc Rzatkowski has stepped up and has done a good job there, but the truth is that Cristian Casseres Jr. has grown into that role. He is the heir apparent to Tyler Adams and the Venezuelan youth international has assisted on the tying goal in Atlanta and the winner against New York City FC. He has also scored some amazing goals, including a golazo against the New England Revolution in the U.S. Open Cup.

Amro Tarek has been getting quite a lot of games since coming to the Red Bulls from Orlando in the off-season. How has he been performing?

DF: Amro Tarek has been great. He has done a great job when either Aaron Long or Tim Parker has been injured, or when Long has been out for international duty like the Gold Cup. He scored a great goal against the LA Galaxy earlier this season and he has been a pleasure to watch.

Are there any injuries, suspensions, or call-ups that will keep players unavailable for selection on Sunday? What is your projected starting lineup and score prediction?

DF: Right now, there are no injuries or suspensions that I am aware of. But I can see this lineup for Sunday night and I predict a 3-3 draw.

GK: Luis Robles

D: Kemar Lawrence, Amro Tarek, Tim Parker, Kyle Duncan

MF: Sean Davis, Cristian Casseres Jr., Alex Muyl, Kaku, Daniel Royer

F: Brian White.

Thanks again to Dan for bringing us up to speed on the Red Bulls.