Michael Bradley wants his New York Red Bulls side to be “aggressive” and “fearless” every weekend as they prepare to take on CF Montreal.
The Red Bulls are off to a flying start in the 2026 MLS season, defeating Orlando City (2-1) and the New England Revolution (1-0) in their opening two matches.
Bradley’s side are the only team in the Eastern Conference to have a 100% record after the first two games of the 2026 campaign.
NYRB are top of the East, and Bradley wants them to continue representing their fans in the best way possible this season.
“We want to play football and compete in a way that the fans see a team represents them in the best way,” said the Red Bulls boss.
“A team that is aggressive, a team that is fearless, a team that steps out on the field no matter who the opponent and no matter where.
“We want to play good football, we want to score goals, we want to be a team that combines the traditional foundation of Red Bull football and our mentality and spirit.
“We are trying to put all of that together in a way that we have a team that is ready to go out on the field every weekend and go after things in a really strong way.”
Just keepin’ it real.
Let’s run it back on Sunday pic.twitter.com/FxJnRJWmUv
— Red Bull New York (@NewYorkRedBulls) March 6, 2026
Montreal, meanwhile, are winless after two games following their 3-0 defeat to 10-man Chicago Fire last time out.
Montreal played up a man for 34 minutes after Jonathan Dean was sent off for Chicago, but the Fire still outscored Montreal 2-0 in that time.
Chicago also outshot Montreal 10 to three, hitting seven shots on target to Montreal’s two while down a man.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York Red Bulls – Julian Hall
Hall scored the only goal in the Red Bulls’ win over New England after scoring twice in the opening match of the season.
At 17 years, 341 days old, Hall is the eighth-youngest player in MLS history to score in consecutive matches and the youngest to do so in his team’s first two matches of a season.
CF Montreal – Efrain Morales
Despite a poor display by Montreal against Chicago, Morales impressed in the Canadian side’s defence.
He won six of his eight duels, including three of his four aerial battles, while also recording a match-high four interceptions.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN
NYRB won both meetings with Montreal last season, their first set of consecutive wins in the series since July 2017 and April 2018.
The Red Bulls have never won three straight matches against Montreal in the 34-match history of the series across all competitions.
NYRB have opened a season with two consecutive wins for the fifth time in club history and the first since 2022. They have never won their first three matches of a regular season before.
After a 5-0 defeat to San Diego FC to open the season, Montreal lost 3-0 at Chicago. Montreal’s -8 goal difference is the second-worst through two matches of a season in MLS history, ahead of only expansion Minnesota United’s -9 in 2017 (two scored, 11 conceded).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
New York Red Bulls – 61.7%
Draw – 20.2%
CF Montreal – 18.1%