A rejuvenated Nashville SC side will be looking to pick up back-to-back home wins when they go head to head with New England Revolution on Saturday night.
Currently on a run of three consecutive defeats, the Revs will journey to Geodis Park looking to stop the rot and begin their surge from the bottom of the league standings.
Match preview
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Nashville continued with their new-found form as they picked up a comfortable 2-0 victory over FC Cincinnati when the sides met at the TQL Stadium on Wednesday night.
First-half goals from Jack Maher and Canadian striker Jacob Shaffelburg were enough to hand the visitors all three points as Cincinnati's run of seven consecutive victories came to an end.
Nashville have now gone unbeaten in each of their last four matches, picking up two wins and two draws to collect eight points from a possible 12, having managed eight points from their previous eight matches preceding this run.
This upturn in form has been owing to their recent solidity at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have kept three clean sheets in their last four outings, having kept just three in their first 15 matches across all competitions.
With 19 points from 15 matches, Rumbani Munthali's men are currently ninth in the Eastern Conference standings, level on points with eighth-placed Philadelphia Union and could move into seventh place with all three points this weekend.
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New England Revolution, on the other hand, were left empty handed yet again as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against New York City FC at the Gillette Stadium last Sunday.
With nothing to separate the sides for most of the game, 26-year-old midfielder Keaton Parks came up clutch for the Pigeons as he struck in the 81st minute to fire them to a fourth straight victory.
New England Revolution have now lost three games on the bounce, conceding eight goals and scoring just twice, and have suffered defeat in seven of their last eight matches across all competitions since the second week of April.
This poor run of results has seen Caleb Porter's men crash out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup as they suffered a humiliating 9-2 aggregate defeat at the hands of Mexican outfit Club America back in April.
With last weekend's result, the Revs have now lost 10 of their 13 MLS matches so far while claiming two wins and one draw to collect seven points and sit rooted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
While New England Revolution will be looking to stop the rot on Sunday, next up is a trip to Geodis Park, where they have failed to win any of their previous three visits, losing twice and claiming one draw since October 2020.
Team News
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Nashville remain without Costa Rican midfielder Randall Leal, who has been out of action since sustaining a hip injury in the game against Inter Miami on April 21.
Canadian defender Lukas MacNaughton has missed the last seven matches since picking up an ankle injury in April and is also out of competition for the hosts.
Nashville have been rock-solid in defence of late and we expect Munthali to name an unchanged back four of Shaq Moore, Walker Zimmerman, Jack Maher and Daniel Lovitz for the third consecutive game.
As for New England Revolution, Henry Kessler is currently suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against New York City FC last weekend.
On the injury front, the Revs will take to the pitch without Brandon Bye (knee), Thomas McNamara (thigh) and Peyton Miller (foot), who have all been sidelined through injuries.
Spanish forward Nacho Gil is set to sit out his fifth consecutive game after picking up a knee injury in the game against Inter Miami on April 28.
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Moore, Zimmerman, Maher, Lovitz; Anunga, Yearwood; Muyl, Mukhtar, Jacob Shaffelburg; Bunbury
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Lima, Arreaga, Romney, Jones; Polster, Kaye; Chancalay, Gil, Borrero; Vrioni
We say: Nashville SC 2-0 New England Revolution
Having picked up a convincing victory over Cincinnati, Nashville will head into the weekend with sky-high confidence as they look to continue their climb in the East Conference table. Nashville have lost just one home game since February 2 and we see them seeing off an out-of-sorts New England Revolution.
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Joshua Ojele
