New York, New York. The Loons last flew up to the Empire State to face (and beat) the Pigeons, but now they find themselves in another cross-conference battle with a very different opponent: the wild Red Bull, which runs on energy drinks that taste like battery acid. I guess they do it because Red Bull gives you wings or something? Your Loons were born with wings, so I feel like we have the advantage here.

Run of Form

Minnesota United FC (9-4-6)
Run of Form: W-L-W-D-D

The Loons are on fire after last night’s resounding home victory over Houston, which saw Bongokuhle Hlongwane turn the tides with a stellar brace and Robin Lod bump the score up to three off of a great ball from Julian Gressel. Despite the absence of four regular starters for international duty, the Black and Blue are holding more than steady. Keeper Wessel Speel held down the fort in Dayne St. Clair’s absence last night, conceding only one inconsequential goal, while the rest of Minnesota’s defense proved as disciplined and unbreakable as ever. Third in the West at 33 points, these guys have proved that they’re a real threat. And that, this year, they can win games in June.

New York Red Bulls (8-7-4)
Run of Form: D-L-W-W-W

New York’s streak of wins has ended, with a loss to a revitalized Austin FC and a draw to Toronto dropping the Red Bulls to seventh in the East — just above that playoff line. That’s an interesting position to be in for last year’s runners-up, who pounded the-downtrodden-but-still-defending-champs LA Galaxy into the ground 7-0 at their last meeting in May. Though they have yet to win on the road in regular-season play with six losses across 10 games, they’ve fared much better at home, which is where they’ll meet the Loons this Saturday. The club is running the same busy summer schedule as Minnesota by participating in the U.S. Open Cup and Leagues Cup, but all six of their call-ups have returned from international duty.

Keys to the Match:

No Foul Play

We all know the Loons do well on set pieces, but it turns out the Red Bulls have an ace up their sleeve, too. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting currently leads the league in PK goals scored, with four of his 10 goals this season coming from penalties. He’s also tied for fifth in the league in the race for the Golden Boot, on par with the likes of Brian White and Lionel Messi. When you get this guy a clear shot, he won’t miss it, and those clear shots seem to come in abundance for New York. They’re at the top of the league in fouls drawn that lead to a shot attempt (34) and also tied at the top for fouls drawn that lead to a goal (6). All that to say, we need to show these guys a little extra Minnesota Nice this weekend to keep Choupo-Moting & Co. in check.

Status Report

The Red Bulls lost three players to injury in their last match against Toronto, seeing defender Raheem Edwards and strikers Lewis Morgan and Wiktor Bogacz leave the pitch at various points. Midfielder Cameron Harper recently underwent knee surgery and is out indefinitely. With Omar Valencia only recently returned from injury and Choupo-Moting spending last game on the bench, they’ve been down a lot of star power recently. In Toronto, they were also absent midfielder Peter Stroud and Head Coach Sandro Schwarz due to card accumulation. But this Saturday should see both of them back in action, and even with several players’ availability in question, Emil Forsberg is as good as ever.

Bongi Time

That’s it, that’s the key.

Just kidding. I’ll explain: After last night’s brace absolutely turned the game around, Coach Ramsay might just want to reevaluate Bongokuhle Hlongwane’s position moving forward (pun intended). After all, he’s originally a forward, and having Julian Gressel around unlocks the option to push Bongi farther up the pitch. He’s made it clear that he knows exactly what to do in that attacking third — remember that he was the club’s leading scorer in 2024, logging 11 goals in regular-season play, and comes second only to Robin Lod in all-time scoring for the club across all competitions (33 goals to Lod’s 35). Though he’s done a great job in the backline this season, it seems after last night that his talent might be better used up front. So what does Ramsay do this weekend? He could keep the tried and true starting XI who prevailed over Houston. He could move Joaquín Pereyra in for Lod to keep him fresh. He could move Bongi to the bench and have Pereyra and Lod start together, but that feels unlikely after the performance Bongi just put out. Does Bongi move to right wingback and push Gressel to the bench? Tough choices, but having this many viable options (in the midst of international absences!) is a great problem to have. If you’re as curious as I am, tune in on MLS Season Pass or Apple TV+ Saturday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. CT to find out.