The New York Red Bulls (4-3-5) travel west again this weekend, with a trip to Texas to face the Dynamo on Friday. Kickoff on UniMas is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET. Houston (4-5-5) is looking to build on a 1-1 road draw at New York City FC last weekend. The Red Bulls have the same intent after a last-minute Chad Barrett goal put Seattle in the driver’s seat to grab three points from New York last Sunday.
1. This will be the only meeting of the season between the two teams after Houston made the switch to the western conference ahead of 2015. Houston made the switch to re-balance to conferences after the end of Chivas USA and the addition of both NYC FC and Orlando City SC.
2: Last year, the Red Bulls were successful twice in their three matchups vs. Houston. The two wins were clean sheets, and the third game ended in a 2-2 draw.
4: Red Bulls’ goalkeeper Luis Robles has four career shutouts vs. Houston in six games played. New York has never lost to the Dynamo with Robles in net (5-0-1).
6: Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips has six goals in five career games against Houston, including his first MLS goal in October 2013. BWP kick-started his 2014 MLS Golden Boot run with a hat trick against Houston last April. He also scored a brace in H-Town on July 4, 2014.
21: The teams have met 21 times since the Dynamo joined MLS in 2006. New York has dominated the overall matchup with a 10-3-8 record. The meetings in Texas have been more even. New York is 2-3-5 in Houston.
11: Attacking duo Giles Barnes and Will Bruin have 11 of Houston’s 17 goals this season. Barnes has struck six times, though Bruin has four in his last four matches.
200: Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty is poised to make his 200th career start in MLS regular season play on Friday night. McCarty, now in his 11th MLS season, has played in 228 MLS league games. That includes 153 games played, and 146 started, for New York.
