HANOVER, N.J. – It’s another short week, but there will be no shortage of motivation to help the Red Bulls get up for Sunday night’s match.

With the season now past the halfway point, the scrutiny surrounding each match—and each dropped point—is ratcheted up to another level. Add in the fact that New York will be traveling south to take on the Philadelphia Union in a grudge match, and one can imagine the proceedings at Talen Energy Stadium won’t be lacking in intensity.

The Red Bulls and Union will face off in league play for the first time this season on Sunday night, but less than three weeks prior, the two sides met in U.S. Open Cup play with the Union edging past New York with a second half surge.

With the Union sitting two points ahead of the Red Bulls in the East, goalkeeper Luis Robles understands the importance of nicking a result at the weekend.

“We know it’s a big game to go into Philly,” he said. “It can be hostile, but it adds to the excitement and the fun of the game. They’re sitting near the top of the table and they had our number during the Open Cup. It’s not quite a rivalry yet because of the vicinity, but there is some hostility towards them and we know that this is an important game, a six-pointer.”

Since entering the league in 2010, the Union have never won a season series against the Red Bulls, as New York leads the all-time series 9-5-2. But after being knocked out of the Open Cup at the hands of their I-95 foes in consecutive seasons, each match between these two sides seems to carry a bit more punch than usual.

“This is a heated rivalry,” head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters on Friday afternoon. “We have the respect of Philly, and I think we’ve earned that over the past few years. They’ve ended our Open Cup dreams twice in the past two years, so there’s a lot to it. We’ll be ready.”

In their 2-1 loss on June 29, the Red Bulls put the Union on the back foot and entered the break with a lead. But after a poor second half, midfielder Mike Grella is confident his side will learn form their past mistakes to put forth an improved performance at the weekend.

“We need to show up and put in a complete performance,” he said. “We were fantastic in the first half that day, it was one our best on the road. If we can have that kind of performance again but for 90 minutes, that’ll be the key.”