Following each of his team's three playoff games, New York manager Mike Petke has been praised for his use of Peguy Luyindula in the attacking part of the midfield. 

If the Red Bulls are to come away with a victory over the New England Revolution in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Final, it will be his other change in the middle of the park this season that will steal the headlines.

For the September 11 showdown with rival D.C. United, Petke opted to move Eric Alexander in from the wing to sit next to Dax McCarty. Since the pair have been together in the midfield, the Red Bulls have won seven of their last league 11 games. That streak includes two wins in three playoff games. 

We weren't able to see just how effective the duo could be in the match against D.C. due to United's loss of Fabian Espindola to a red card in the 32nd minute. However, the midfield pairing did show plenty of promise in the 1-0 victory at Red Bull Arena. 

Ever since, Alexander and McCarty have been called upon to man the holding-midfield positions, while Luyindula and Tim Cahill have been employed in the attacking role of the 4-2-3-1. 

During the 11-game span, the New York midfield pair has rarely suffered setbacks. The two regular-season losses in that span came at the hands of the LA Galaxy and Columbus Crew. Alexander was not in the starting 11 for the match against LA. New York also drew with Philadelphia on a wet day at PPL Park three days after the win over D.C. 

Other than those three slip-ups, New York has been on fire on its way to the Eastern Conference Final. When they take the pitch Sunday afternoon, Alexander and McCarty will face their toughest test yet as a duo in the form of Lee Nguyen. 

Nguyen has helped carry the Revolution to this stage of the playoffs by scoring 20 goals and assisting on another three New England strikes. All the United States international has needed is a moment of brilliance or pocket of space to take advantage of opposing defenses. 

Some thought Nguyen would have an issue dealing with Columbus' defensive midfield pairing of Tony Tchani and Wil Trapp. But that concern was eliminated thanks to the high press employed by New England manager Jay Heaps. 

In two meetings during the regular season with the Red Bulls, Nguyen did not go up against the newly formed midfield partnership of Alexander and McCarty. In the two losses to New York, Nguyen failed to score despite firing off six shots. 

Few teams were able to have the success containing Nguyen this season that the Red Bulls had, which already gives Petke an advantage heading into Sunday's first leg. Now that Petke has the perfect pairing in place to stop opposing attacks, Nguyen's influence on the game could diminish even more. 

The biggest issue for the Red Bulls will be dealing with the pressure New England will bring from all angles in its attacking third. To nullify the success of the press, Alexander and McCarty will have to control the possession battle. 

McCarty leads the Red Bulls in passes per game with 59.6, while Alexander is third on the list at 40.2. The midfielders are no stranger to gaining a stronghold in the possession battle, which could give them an upper hand against Nguyen. 

The two New York midfielders are also strong at passing in tight space, as McCarty leads the team with 46.6 accurate short passes per game. Alexander is third on the team with an average of 32.3 in the same category. If they can play well in tight spaces, it will limit the number of turnovers in their own half. 

Playing a prolonged game of keep away to start the match won't hurt the Red Bulls at home, but at some point they will have to surge forward in attack. Although they have plenty of weapons up front like Thierry Henry, Lloyd Sam, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Luyindula, McCarty does creep forward on occasion to add an extra element to the group.

When McCarty does run further up the pitch, Alexander must keep an eye on Nguyen at all times as the New England player looks to spring the counter. If the 26-year-old can contain the threat on the counter, he could help take Nguyen out of his element. 

To further add to the misery of the visiting Revolution, McCarty must be a menace to Jermaine Jones when New England looks to counter off a turnover. If he is far enough forward to pressure Jones into a bad pass, McCarty must step in and cause some discomfort. 

If McCarty and Alexander can keep a high energy level, and keep Nguyen out of the game for 90 minutes, New York could head into the second leg with a comfortable lead on aggregate. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

All statistics obtained from WhoScored.com and MLSSoccer.com. 

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