New England Revolution and DC United lock horns at the Gillette Stadium on Sunday, in each team's second game of the Major League Soccer season.
The hosts picked up a point in a 2-2 draw away at Chicago Fire on the opening day, while DC United started with a 2-1 victory at home to New York City FC.
Match preview
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New England Revolution kicked their MLS campaign off with a point last time out, as they drew 2-2 away at Chicago Fire.
In an action-packed first half, the hosts took a two-goal lead inside the first 10 minutes through Robert Beric and Luka Stojanovic, before goals from Adam Buksa and Gustavo Bou levelled the game on the 30-minute mark.
Despite plenty more chances for both sides, the game would go on to end that way, and DeJuan Jones was shown a red card in the 92nd minute as he stopped the Chicago Fire forward breaking into the box to net a late winner.
Bruce Arena's side managed to sneak into the MLS playoffs last season, and the Revs would go on to reach the final four, when they lost 1-0 to eventual winners Columbus Crew in the Conference finals.
Arena's men will look to build on that this season as they go in search of their first MLS title, and they will be keen to cement their spot in the top seven this year.
They take on a DC United side who will also be looking to strengthen their position in the Eastern Conference, and will have their sights set on back-to-back wins to kickstart their campaign.
Hernan Losada's side started their season with a 2-1 home win over New York City FC last time out, despite the visitors taking an early lead through Valentin Castellanos.
Brendan Hines-Ike drew his side level, before Russell Canouse netted the winner for the Black-and-Red on the stroke of half time.
The Washington outfit will look to put last season behind them, as they finished 13th in the 14-team Eastern Conference, missing out on the playoffs as a result.
To do that, they will hope to continue their strong start to the campaign, and cement themselves at the top end of the conference from the outset.
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Team News
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New England Revolution will come into this game without DeJuan Jones, as he will serve a suspension for the red card shown against Chicago Fire.
Meanwhile, winger Arnor Ingvi Traustason is expected to remain out, following his recent move from Malmo.
Gustavo Bou and Adam Buksa should form the front two, having both found the net in the 2-2 draw on the opening day.
Midfielder Carles Gil is a key man for the Revs, having recorded 12 goals and 17 assists in his 46 games for the club.
Losada could look to keep his DC United side unchanged after the victory last time out.
In that game, the Red-and-Black deployed a system of three centre-backs, with Brendan Hines-Ike, Frederic Brilliant and Jose Vazquez forming a solid back line.
That left Erik Sorga to operate as a lone striker, supported by the wide threat of Russell Canouse and Yamil Rodrigo Asad.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Turner; Bye, Farrell, Kessler, Bell; Gil, Polster, McNamara, Buchanan; Bou, Buksa
DC United possible starting lineup:
Seitz; Gressel, Hines-Ike, Brilliant, Vazquez, Mora; Canouse, Flores, Moreno, Asad; Sorga
We say: New England Revolution 2-1 DC United
New England will be hopeful of putting their first win of the season on the board on Sunday, and we see them narrowly beating the Washington outfit.
Arena's side showed plenty of positive signs in their opening game and, despite DC United's victory on the opening day, they should have enough to outclass the visitors.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a New England Revolution win with a probability of 61.66%. A draw had a probability of 20.6% and a win for DC United had a probability of 17.78%.
The most likely scoreline for a New England Revolution win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.77%) and 1-0 (9.42%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.59%), while for a DC United win it was 1-2 (4.88%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that New England Revolution would win this match.
