Charlotte FC hope to return strong vs. Red Bulls

Charlotte FC will try to reignite the momentum they built ahead of Major League Soccer's month-long pause when they host the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.

Charlotte (10-8-7, 37 points) went 1-0-2 in three road matches leading up to the Leagues Cup break, which began on July 26.

The unbeaten run has Charlotte in sixth place in the Eastern Conference coming out of the break, and coach Dean Smith figures the trio of road tests will continue to pay dividends.

"All were tough games, and we came out with five points with good performances in all three games as well," Smith said. "We will certainly take the positives from that."

The Red Bulls (10-4-11, 41 points) have an eight-match unbeaten streak in MLS play, going 2-0-6 since a June 8 defeat at the New England Revolution. It is New York's longest unbeaten stretch since 2021.

Coach Sandro Schwarz says the club is still not complacent, however.

"I wasn't told that I should become champion (right) away, but we have high expectations of ourselves," Schwarz said.

New York's roster may be healing.

Peter Stroud, Serge Ngoma and Emil Forsberg might be back from injuries for the Red Bulls after missing time prior to the gap in the schedule.

"It looks much better," Schwarz said. "We will see. Good progress."

As for Charlotte's roster, attacking midfielder Pep Biel has joined the team from the Greek club Olympiacos. He's on loan for the rest of the season, potentially filling any holes on the roster.

"As complete as it's going to be," Smith said of the lineup.

This week, Charlotte also added forward Idan Toklomati from Israeli club Maccabi Petah Tikva, though he's considered at the prospect level at this point.

The Red Bulls defeated visiting Charlotte 3-1 on May 29, with Forsberg scoring two second-half goals. That marked one of six matches this season in which New York has tallied three or more goals.

Across all competitions, Red Bulls forward Elias Manoel has tallied six goals and one assist in five career matches vs. Charlotte.

--Field Level Media