Club Tijuana vs. New York Red Bulls
2018 CONCACAF Champions League – Quarterfinals, Leg 1
Estadio Caliente - Tijuana
10 pm ET – March 6, 2018
WATCH: UDN, univisiondeportes.com, go90.com

Of the three MLS-Liga MX CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal clashes, the New York Red Bulls might be best situated to advance to the semifinals. Unlike Toronto FC, which face Tigres and Seattle Sounders FC, which meet Chivas de Guadalajara, the Red Bulls had a bye in Week 1 of the MLS season and will be home for the second leg.

But the Red Bulls are facing a Xolos team that are hitting their stride in the attacking third and are sixth in the Liga MX table, unbeaten in their last three league contests, including a tie with undefeated Club America. Club Tijuana is seeking a second appearance in the CCL semifinals, after doing so in their only other appearance in 2013-14.

• Red Bulls "zero excuses" approach pays off in CCL series with Olimpia
• From glory to grime, BWP remains pivotal to RBNY
• Champions League quarterfinals: Schedule set

Club Tijuana

The Round of 16 series with Motagua of Honduras proved tricky, but Xolos survived and advanced 2-1 on aggregate. Ignacio Rivero scored the all-important away goal in a 1-0 win in a match played at a neutral site in Edinburg, Texas. There were chances galore after Alberto Garcia gave Xolos an early 1-0 lead in the second leg, but the hosts had to sweat out the final two minutes after Walter Martinez leveled late for Motagua.

Tijuana then returned to Liga MX play and recorded a comprehensive 3-1 win over Lobos BUAP Friday at home, with Luis Mendoza capitalizing on a goalkeeping blunder for the lone goal of the first half, followed by a Miller Bolanos penalty kick and a Garcia chip (after another defensive miscue) 10 minutes apart in the second.

• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution: Alberto Garcia
• Injury Report: OUT: F Gustavo Bou (leg), F Juan Lucero (leg)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Gibran Lajud — Omar Mendoza, Juan Carlos Valenzuela, Pablo Aguilar, Damian Perez — Damian Musto, Alejandro Guido — Mateus Goncalves, Jose Rivero, Miller Bolanos — Alberto Garcia

New York Red Bulls

The Red Bulls won their first CCL series by beating Olimpia of Honduras, 3-1, on aggregate following a tidy 2-0 victory at Red Bull Arena in the second leg on Thursday. Bradley Wright-Phillips, who set up Daniel Royer for the critical away goal in a 1-1 draw in the first leg, put the Red Bulls in front on 54 minutes and Sean Davis followed with an insurance tally 10 minutes later.

On Friday, the long-rumored trade with Vancouver became official with the Red Bulls shipping midfielder Felipe and Targeted Allocation Money to the Whitecaps for central defender Tim Parker, who could feature in this two-legged series.

• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution: Tyler Adams, Aurelien Collin, Sean Davis, Daniel Royer
• Injury Report: None

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Luis Robles — Michael Murillo, Aaron Long, Tim Parker, Kemar Lawrence — Tyler Adams, Marc Rzatkowski — Alex Muyl, Sean Davis, Daniel Royer — Bradley Wright-Phillips

All-Time Series

This is the first-ever meeting between the New York Red Bulls and Club Tijuana.

• CONCACAF Champions League history: Tijuana - 1 appearance, (2013-14) 6 wins, 3 losses, 2 ties (17 goals) … New York Red Bulls - 3 appearances (2008-09, 2014-15, 2016-17) 4 wins, 3 losses, 7 ties (15 goals)

Referees

To be announced …