Since Rafael Marquez has been doing a fair bit of complaining about how his defensive partners have played in the back line, the New York Red Bulls' Designated Player will start his second consecutive game in the center of midfield on Tuesday night, as his team takes on the Los Angeles Galaxy. Marquez was solid, but unspectacular in this role last week, and makes up one of the most technically sound central midfield tandems in MLS with Teemu Tainio.
The complete lineups for New York Red Bulls vs. Los Angeles Galaxy can be found here.
However, many have questioned his work rate and it's not an unfair criticism. Marquez likes to stand around and look frustrated when his teammates give away the ball, which is simply not acceptable in central defense or in the defensive midfield position he's now going to be operating in. Tainio will likely do a lot more of the running while Joel Lindpere will help with defending, but Marquez is going to need to up his game for the Red Bulls to control the midfield and avoid getting burned on the counter-attack.
Los Angeles is without their two best forward players, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, but they're still fielding a very strong lineup. David Beckham and Juninho start in the middle, while Michael Stephens and Paulo Cardozo are no slouches. Striker Chad Barrett scored a goal last week, while Miguel Lopez has looked very promising in spots.
Thierry Henry will do a fair bit of dropping deep into midfield from his forward position, while Dane Richards has blistering pace and Luke Rodgers is a deadly finisher. It will be important for Omar Gonzalez and A.J. Delagarza to stay disciplined and not get drawn out towards him, and it will be equally important for Beckham to work when his team does not have the ball and avoid leaving all of the dirty work to Juninho.
The teams have matching formations and similar talent, but there are plenty of unknowns that make this matchup compelling. Will RBNY's talent show up? Will Marquez adapt to his new position? Does Rodgers have the quality and Henry the work rate to cause trouble for the solid LA defense? The Red Bulls need a win to solidify their playoff position and put themselves back into a position where they control their own destiny. Hopefully for their fans, that's enough motivation for the moody Henry and Marquez to give their best.
For more on the two teams, be sure to check out LA Galaxy blog LAG Confidential and Red Bulls blog Once A Metro. For live coverage of Red Bulls-Galaxy and the U.S. Open Cup final between Seattle Sounders and the Chicago Fire later tonight, keep it on our MLS Super Tuesday StoryStream.
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