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Red Bulls hope strong form, squad depth leads to points during busy week

Red Bulls by Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports

Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports

By MATT STYPULKOSKI

Two byes over the first five weeks left the New York Red Bulls with games in hand on just about every other team in MLS. Now it’s time to play catch-up.

Sunday evening’s 1-1 draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy kicked off a stretch of three matches in seven days for the Red Bulls, who currently sit just two points off the Eastern Conference lead.

Next up is a visit from the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, followed by a trip to the New England Revolution on Saturday.

“It’s less practice time and more game time,” midfielder Sal Zizzo said. “So as soon as you get rested up from the first game, you’ve got another one around the corner. We’re playing well at the moment so I think a lot of guys are kind of happy that we’ve got all these games at one point. There was times when we had a couple weeks off, which we weren’t too happy about. It’s definitely taxing on our bodies, but we’re fit, we had a tough preseason and we’re ready to roll.”

The Red Bulls will certainly need to be ready if they hope to pick up points against some tough opposition. Though they’ve already gotten one point against the reigning MLS Cup champions, a matchup with the runners-up still looms.

But as Zizzo mentioned, the fact that the Red Bulls are playing well – they’re undefeated through six matches, the longest unbeaten start in club history – should make this period of quick turnarounds far more enjoyable.

“You can make some ground in the table and get quick wins back-to-back, it’s good,” midfielder Lloyd Sam said. “I like three games in a week. Not every week, though, just now and then. So you should probably ask me after the week and I’ll tell you what I think of it.”

While Sam and the rest of the squad waits to see whether this week will be a boon to point total or a streak-buster, head coach Jesse Marsch is eager for the opportunity to work some more players into the mix.

After Sunday’s match, Marsch said that he expects both Roy Miller and Ronald Zubar, who have been sidelined with injuries, to feature on the back line this week. In addition to working that duo back into the squad, the plan is to test the rest of the Red Bulls’ depth, too.

“You know, I think that we have a very good roster,” Marsch said. “We have a deep roster and we’re going to call on it now.”

While the Red Bulls’ week is bookended with difficult games, their midweek competition should provide a slightly more manageable task.

Though the Rapids have been playing better of late – four of their points and all six of their goals have come in the last three weeks – they are still a struggling side. One year after finishing eighth in the Western Conference, the Rapids have earned just seven points through seven weeks and sit at the foot of the table.

That makes the Rapids the perfect opportunity for some of that still-untested squad depth to get its first taste of action.

“We have some guys that I think have been earning playing time but haven’t gotten it yet because of the way the schedule has worked out,” Marsch said. “Two weeks ago, we talked about taking the USL Pro games, using training, using some supplemental fitness after training to make sure that in this stretch of games, whoever was going to get called on, that they know their roles and they’re ready to go. So we’ll test it on Wednesday, see how it goes.”

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