Coming off a stunning 2-1 loss at home to the Montreal Impact, you might have figured New York Red Bulls head coach Chris Armas would make changes for their game against FC Dallas on Saturday. But you probably wouldn't have expected the starting XI he has decided to put out.
Armas has changed out 10 of his 11 starters, with center back Amro Tarek being the only player to return to the starting XI. Among those that were dropped is Aaron Long, who suffered a hamstring injury on Wednesday night. Luis Robles, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Daniel Royer, Marc Rzatkowski and Long did not travel with the team to Texas.
On the other side, Luchi Gonzalez has handed first-round draft pick John Nelson his first start at left back as Ryan Hollingshead has moved up to claim a spot on the right wing. Michael Barrios, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation, will be missing his first match since June 2016. This breaks a streak of 96 consecutive appearances for the Colombian winger.
