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The New York Red Bulls are two days away from game one of their Western Conference playoff series vs. Houston and head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has some tough decisions to make.
With a handful of players playing terribly in the regular season finale vs. Chicago, Osorio must decide which players he can still trust to deliver in a big game.
Some decisions are easy, like handcuffing defender Gabriel Cichero to the bench, but what about some others? Do you take a chance on Juan Pietravallo considering he seemingly can’t go a game without assaulting somebody. Do you give Jorge Rojas a try considering how invisible he was in some recent games?
With these things in mind, here is a lineup you could see take the field on Saturday vs. Houston:
RED BULLS PROJECTED LINEUP
——————-Kandji——–Angel—————–
————————–Rojas————————-
Van Den Bergh——————————-Richards
————————-Stammler——————–
Goldthwaite—-Jimenez———Boyens—–Leitch
—————————Cepero——————–
There are few safer bets than Mac Kandji and Dane Richards earning starts. Richards absolutely torched Wade Barrett in the 3-0 win against Houston in August. Kandji has looked good in recent games and creates enough problems for opposing defenders to merit a start.
The back-line is easy to select. The above back-line is the same group that shut out the Dynamo in August.
The midfield is a real question. Do you go with Rojas or Magee in a playmaking role? Do you take a chance on Pietravallo, who shut down Dwayne DeRosario the last time these teams met? Do you find a way to get Matthew Mbuta on the field and consider playing him on the left flank, with Van Den Bergh in a central role?
For those of you wondering, here was the Red Bulls lineup in the 3-0 win vs. Houston on Aug. 24:
—————————Angel————————
Van Den Bergh———-Magee————Richards
——————Stammler—Pietravallo———–
Goldthwaite—-Jimenez———Boyens—–Leitch
—————————Conway——————–
What lineup would you like to see the Red Bulls use on Saturday? Share your thoughts below.