- NY Red Bulls v Charlotte
- Thursday 22 June, 2023, 19:30 ET
- At Red Bull Arena
Both the New York Red Bulls and Charlotte FC are struggling for form, but the home team looks the best pick when they clash on Wednesday evening.
Who do Bettors Favor?
According to the best bookmakers (and you can check out our top sportsbook reviews here) the home team is the favorite with bettors. New York Red Bulls is rated at up to -130 by the bookmakers, with the draw around +270 and the visiting team available between +360 and +380.
| NY Red Bulls v Charlotte |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bulls | -128 | -127 | -130 |
| Draw | +275 | +265 | +260 |
| Charlotte | +380 | +360 | +365 |
Red Bulls Aim to Narrow Playoff Gap
The New York Red Bulls' MLS campaign has been disastrous thus far, yet it might be argued that under interim head coach Troy Lesesne, the team is making modest progress. The Red Bulls has won three out of six games since he took charge at the beginning of May, after winning one of the prior 11.
Ahead of the last game against Orlando, it had only lost once in its previous five contests, but a 3-0 setback in that game, in which Andres Reyes was sent off shortly after halftime means that the team has taken a step back after a couple of steps forward.
On the plus side, the squad is just three points out of the last wild card spot, trailing ninth-placed Montreal. Lesesne's players have an opportunity to narrow the gap further with games in hand on some of the playoff clubs thanks to back-to-back home games against Charlotte and Atlanta.
The Red Bulls' impressive defensive performance thus far in the season has also been positive. The squad is tied for second in MLS with just 16 goals allowed. Sadly, with only 11 goals scored, it has the lowest attacking record in both Conferences.
Inconsistent Charlotte Leaking Goals
Given that Charlotte FC has struggled for consistency during the first half of its regular season schedule, the verdict on Christian Lattanzio is still out in his first full season as the team's head coach.
On the plus side, Charlotte is three points ahead of the Red Bulls in the standings, but the team's failure to maintain any sort of regular form is more concerning. It had a strong run of four victories in five games in May, but has since dropped three of its last five games. When it last played, it pushed Seattle all the way in a 3-3 draw in which it recovered from a goal down on three occasions to earn the point.
Although it has scored a satisfactory 25 goals, it has by far the poorest defensive record in MLS with 33 goals allowed, and has allowed three or more goals in a single game six times. The key to unlocking more consistency is to find some defensive solidity and to stop the team from leaking goals.
MLS Match Betting Head-to-Head
Charlotte joined MLS last year, so these two teams have only met four times, one of which was in the Open Cup, making this one of the Eastern Conference's lesser-known rivalries.
The head-to-head record shows that their first competitive encounter was May 2022 in the Open Cup Fourth Round, and the Red Bulls prevailed 3-1, however, they played their first MLS game a little more than two weeks later, and this time Charlotte came out on top.
New York won the second MLS match of the season, continuing the trend of home team dominance, while the first encounter of this season resulted in a 1-1 draw in Charlotte.
MLS Match Betting Team News
Andres Reyes’ red card in the previous game means that the Red Bulls will be missing one of its key defenders for this game, in addition to the trio of Serge Ngoma, Steven Sserwadda and Omir Fernandez, who are all injured, and Daniel Edelman who is absent on international duty.
The team news for Charlotte indicates that head coach Lattanzio will also be without four players for this match. Goalkeeper George Marks is missing with a sprained ankle; winger Kamil Jozwiak has a hamstring problem, and both Hamady Diop and Enzo Copetti are out with other muscle issues.
MLS Match Betting Pick
Charlotte’s open style of play means that there is an extra element of uncertainty in this game’s match betting market but the home team should be able to capitalize.
The Red Bulls’ defense has been very impressive, even while the remainder of the team has fallen short of the expected standards and at Red Bull Arena, it can match Charlotte’s attack. This is likely to be a tight game between struggling teams, but I think New York will be able to edge this one.
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