By the Numbers: #NYvNE

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

(Note: These stats include MLS playoff games)

With the New England Revolution set to take on the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, New England Soccer Today took a look at how the two clubs stack up in some key statistical areas.

Scoring Breakdown: The Red Bulls generate most of their offense from open play, scoring 48 of their 60 goals, or 80 percent, during the open course of play, which is second in the MLS to the LA Galaxy in total open play goals and first in percentage of goals from open play.  They don’t strike much on the counter-attack as they were one of seven teams in the MLS with 0 or 1 counter-attacking goals.  The Red Bulls also didn’t pose much of a threat with set pieces, ranking 17^th out of 19 teams in set piece goals with 4.

Meanwhile, the Revolution had a much more diverse portfolio of goals, as they were middle of the pack with 33 goals scored from open play, while scoring 6 on the counter attack, which was second in the MLS, and 13 from set pieces, which was fourth in the MLS.

Breaking Into The Box: The Red Bulls lead the MLS with percentage of shots from inside the 18 yard box, with 62 percent of their shots coming from within this area, which is well above the second place FC Dallas, who shoot from the 18 yard box 55 percent of the time.  The Red Bulls also lead the MLS with 8 percent of their shots coming within the 6-yard box.  Of course, this means that they have the lowest percentage of shots in the league coming from outside the box with 29 percent.  The Revolution greatly differ with 50 percent of their shots coming from outside the box, which is third in the MLS, while they are 18^th out of 19 teams with 44 percent of their shots coming from within the 18 yard box.  The Revolution do take their fair share of short range shots, however, with 7 percent of their total shots within the 6-yard box.

Don’t expect the Red Bulls to take many shots outside the box, as the Revolution’s opponents take 41 percent of their shots from long distance, the sixth-lowest percentage in the MLS.  The Revolution faced 54 percent of their shots from within the 18 yard box (4^th most in the MLS), but only 5 percent from within the 6 yard box (14^th in the MLS).  The Red Bulls seemingly are middle of the pack in shots against per zone ranking 7^th in the MLS in percentage of shots from within the 6 yard box (5 percent), 7^th in shots against from within the 18 yard box (51 percent) and 9^th in shots against from outside the box (44 percent).

Straight Down The Middle: New York leads the MLS with 72% of their attempts coming from the middle of the field, while the Revolution typically attack from the sides, with only 58% of their shots coming from the middle, ranking 17^th in the MLS.  The Revolution are accustomed to attacks down the center of the field, with 66 percent of their shots faced coming from the center of the field, which 3^rd highest percentage in the MLS.

Applying the Pressure: New England leads the MLS in time spent in the oppositions third (32%).  While the Red Bulls are in the middle of the pack in time spent in the opposing third, they are near the leaders in time with the ball in their own section (28%, 5^th in MLS).

Chicks Dig The Long Ball: The Revolution only trail the Colorado Rapids in long balls per game, with 73, while their 16 crosses per game is 18^th out of 19 in the MLS.  The Red Bulls have a different approach in their passing game, with 23 crosses per game (good for second in the MLS) and 58 long balls per game, ranking 17th in the league.

Pass Completion and Possession: The New York Red Bulls are fourth in the MLS in passing accuracy, completing 80.6 percent of their passes.  The Revolution have completed 75.9 percent, ranking 18^th in the league.  The Red Bulls rank fifth in the MLS in possession with 51.8 percent over the course of the season, while the Revolution rank 14^th in the MLS with 48.5 percent.

 Hitting The Mark: The New York Red Bulls may be among the leaders in goals scored in the MLS, but they sit 11^th out of 19 teams with 11.8 shots per game.  This includes ranking 15^th in both shots per game on the road (10.3 shots per game) and at their home stadium of Red Bull Arena (13.3 shots per game).  The Red Bulls make the most of their opportunities with 4.7 shots per game on target, meaning 39.83 percent of their total shots are on target, good enough for second in the MLS.  The Revolution are fifth in the MLS in total shots per game with 13.9 per game, and fifth in the MLS in shots on target, with 5.5 per game.  However, the Revolution are almost just as efficient, as they rank third in the MLS with 39.57 percent of their shots being on target and are only one of two MLS teams with more shots on target than off target, with the other team being the Seattle Sounders.  The Revolution also lead the MLS with 6.7 shots on target per game.

Scouting Report: The New York Red Bulls’ preferred formation is a 4-4-2, starting with this formation in 24 of their 37 matches and compiling a 6-10-8 record in those matches.  However, recently they have been playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Bradley Wright-Phillips as the lone striker and Lloyd Sam, Peguy Luyindula, and Thierry Henry as attacking midfielders.  This formation has seen a record of 6-1-3 in the 10 games it’s been used.  Team leaders are presented in the table below.

*According to whoscored.com; Minimum 20 Games