Toronto vs New York York Red Bulls Prediction: Both teams are similar in form

With the close of the MLS regular season looming, Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls sit in precarious positions in terms of playoff contention. Toronto FC now lie 8th with 11 wins, 4 draws, and 17 losses, fighting for a playoff spot, as the Red Bulls lie 6th with a more stable record of 10 wins, 14 draws, and 7 losses. With both teams struggling to find momentum in recent times, this could easily turn out to be an important game that decides either team's fate as far as the postseason goes.

Toronto FC

Toronto have become hot and cold, as a recent 1-1 draw against Chicago Fire stretched their streak without a win to four games. In the last five matches, Toronto have won just once and their attack has not been razor-sharp, with the team managing to record only 39% in terms of average ball possession and even fewer in big chances created. The 3-4-2-1 formation for Toronto suggests an intent to boss the midfield, but they mostly break due to poor defensive solidity and inability to create goal-scoring chances.

Key stats - like the 67% success rate in defensive tackles and just two shots on target in their last match - underline their problems going forward. Furthermore, with each of the team's last four out of five games ending with under 2.5 goals, it is crystal clear that Toronto has become a side more focused on damage limitation than proactive attack.

Toronto's tactical setup is a three-man backline in their 3-4-2-1 system, where the concept of defensive compactness in the middle of the pitch is very important, often with attacks down the wings. That would indicate that this team takes pressure quite well; however, they clearly have not had any offensive punch whatsoever this season, and lately, haven't been able to turn possession into good opportunities.

With that, they will most probably base their game plan upon a more cautious approach: trying to hold on to the defensive stability and only hope to make use of quick transitions to take advantage of the uncertain Red Bulls defense. Expect less aggressive pressing from Toronto, while trying to control the midfield with their wingbacks.

New York Red Bulls

The Red Bulls enter the match with dented confidence after a crushing 5-1 defeat to local rivals New York City FC. In the past five matches, the Red Bulls have suffered three losses and two draws, while their last victory was eight games ago. They generally do possess a fairly balanced tactical setup with their 4-4-2 formation; however, leaky defense has leaked seven goals in their last two outings.

One would notice that the Red Bulls are still pretty potent in their attacking approach, considering a high corner count of 9 in the last game, with a decent share of possession at 52%. Their defensive frailty was exposed against NYCFC, with only 1 save from their goalkeeper, complemented by inefficient pressing-52% of duels won.

The Red Bulls normally use the 4-4-2 system where they emphasize high press and direct play. They will try to dominate possession and find space wide, which has been an important area from which they regularly create crosses into the box. Their defense also showed some weakness with ample possibilities of getting caught out of position. They are most likely to aim at pressing the home side high up the pitch for mistakes in order to create quick chances against Toronto.

The Red Bulls do have the capability of creating chances, as evident from the 3 big chances they created in their loss to NYCFC. However, they will need to be more disciplined in defense if they are to leave Toronto with a result.

Head to Head

While this can be guessed from the past matches between Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls, it is quiet discernable that Red Bulls have dominated most of the encounters, though closely fought for. The two teams have met 20 times with the Red Bulls managing to outwit Toronto 11 times and Toronto emerging victors 4 times while 5 matches ended in a draw. Several important streaks, most notably the defensive and opening goal-scoring streaks, further give credence to the superior track record of the Red Bulls.

Expert Betting Tips

This is a game pitting two teams with similar positions in terms of form and consistency. Toronto is solid at the back but lacks the firepower upfront to make an attacking difference in the final third. Most of their games of late have been low-scoring, with the onus being on being solid rather than committing too many players forward.

On the other hand, while the Red Bulls have proven to be more potent on offense, they also usually have failed because of their own defensive mistakes. They have generally shown a tendency to allow opponents to score first, which might just play into Toronto's hands if they can take an early lead. But given both teams' penchant for drawing and lack of recent wins, this might be a tightly contested, low-scoring encounter.

• GG (Yes) @ 1.63 Odds
• Draw FT @ 3.50 Odds
• Correct Score 1-1 @ 6.50 Odds