David Villa and Bradley Wright-Phillips were considered the aging faces of the first-ever Hudson River Derby.
Three years later, the stars, Villa for New York City FC and Wright-Phillips for the Red Bulls, enter Saturday’s latest installment at Red Bull Arena in their strongest form.
Villa, 36, is fresh off a two-goal performance, scoring his 400th and 401st career goals in a 3-1 win over FC Dallas last Sunday that improved NYCFC to 6-1-2 (20 points).
As for Wright-Phillips, he arguably has been MLS’ most unrecognized star this year. Beyond his heroic performance leading the Red Bulls (4-3-0, 12 points) to the CONCACAF semifinals, the 33-year-old forward has five goals and four assists in seven matches, four of which he started.