The New York Red Bulls will play a familiar lineup on Friday night against New York City FC in the final regular season New York Derby of the 2017 season.
One wrinkle will see Fidel Escobar make his second-consecutive start for the Red Bulls, following his debut against the Portland Timbers last week.
Aaron Long and Kemar Lawrence will join Escobar on defense, supported by Michael Amir Murillo and Tyler Adams on the wings.
Escobar and Murillo have been teammates at both the youth and senior levels for the Panamanian national team.
Sacha Kljestan and Felipe will lock down the central midfield, while Sean Davis and Alex Muyl handle the attacking wings. Bradley Wright-Phillips will lead the attack.
In just eight MLS matches, Wright-Phillips has tallied 10 goals against NYCFC. BWP has not tallied double-digit goals in MLS play against any other MLS team in his career. The next closest team is Toronto, as BWP has scored nine goals in 10 matches.
Along with his teammate Wright-Phillips, Kljestan has tallied 10 assists against NYCFC. Kljestan has not tallied double-digit assists in MLS play against any other MLS team in his career. The next closest squad is Los Angeles as he has recorded eight assists in 16 matches
Luis Robles will start in goal, extending his club- and league-record consecutive start streak.
Of Robles’s 46 career clean sheets, he has recorded 30 of them at Red Bull Arena. He has a career 1.05 goals-against average at home.
The bench for the Red Bulls will feature Ryan Meara, Sal Zizzo, Connor Lade, Vincent Bezecourt, Derrick Etienne, Jr., Dilly Duka and Gonzalo Veron.
Bezecourt and Duka also made their Red Bulls debut against the Timbers.
