Another chapter in the heated New York-Boston rivalry will take place this weekend as the New England Revolution search for their first victory in their last five MLS encounters when hosting New York City FC at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Last season's Supporters' Shield winners could only manage a 0-0 draw versus the Chicago Fire in midweek, while the Pigeons have dropped two matches in less than a week, losing 2-1 against Orlando City and DC United.
Match preview
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Following a record 2021 regular season campaign, few experts predicted that New England would be in a dogfight for a playoff berth at this stage of the year.
While this team have experienced a much bumpier season than we saw in 2021, a fourth successive trip to the postseason is still very much a possibility, with the Revs trailing Inter Miami for that final position by just a single point.
After leading the league with 65 goals a year ago, their offence has sputtered at times, going goalless on six occasions in 2022.
New England have had their share of heated battles against the Boys in Blue over the past couple of seasons, and that rivalry seemed to hit a whole new level back in July when NYCFC were given three penalty kicks in the opening half, defeating the Revs 4-2.
That fixture left a bitter taste in the mouth of Bruce Arena and his team, with the five-time MLS Cup-winning coach saying afterwards that the league owed his team an apology for how that game was officiated.
The Revs have points in 10 of their previous 11 matches played in Greater Boston, and they have their goalkeeper to thank for a number of those points.
Their last seven home fixtures have been decided by a goal or fewer, with New England failing to score more than once in four straight encounters at Gillette Stadium.
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Concern is starting to grow in the Bronx as the NYCFC campaign took another hit on Wednesday, losing to the worst team in MLS (DC United).
Not only did New York lose consecutive home outings for just the third time in their history in midweek, but they came away empty-handed for the fifth time in their last six games, winning only one of their previous five fixtures away from home.
After another disappointing defeat this week, interim manager Nick Cushing said he could not fault his players' spirit, though no one would begrudge the 37-year-old if he were to fault this team's quality, with the Pigeons tallying just a single goal in three of their previous four matches.
While sitting comfortably in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, Cushing has struggled to find solutions to their problems, as New York have dropped points in five outings against teams who are currently outside of the playoff picture since Cushing took over.
With 34 goals conceded to this point of the campaign, NYCFC have only allowed two fewer tallies than they had in their entire 2021 regular season, allowing multiple goals in six separate encounters this year.
They have only won one of their previous seven regular-season visits to Gillette Stadium, though that does not include the 2021 playoffs when New York eliminated the Revs on their home field, in a penalty shootout, en route to capturing their first MLS Cup.
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Team News
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Revs goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic helped his side preserve a point at home to the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, stopping a Chris Mueller penalty in the opening half, his third save from the spot this season.
Homegrown Player Noel Buck started the first match of his MLS career in their previous outing, Matt Polster earned his 150th league cap and Gustavo Bou returned to the starting lineup for the first time since July 16.
DeJuan Jones recorded a career-high 111 touches in their midweek encounter, while Andrew Farrell can become the first Revs player to feature in 300 regular season affairs should he see the field in two of their final six matches of the season.
As many as five players could be missing for New England on Sunday, with Wilfrid Kaptoum, Dylan Borrero, Giacomo Vrioni, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and Jacob Jackson all suffering from leg injuries.
Heber picked up his seventh goal of the season for New York this week, with Malte Amundsen collecting his second assist on that play, while the Talles Magno goalless drought is now up to four games.
Gabriel Pereira had the winner in their previous meeting against the Revs this season, Santiago Rodriguez still leads them with 10 assists in 2022 and Sean Johnson is first in the league for clean sheets with 13, one more than Andre Blake.
Anton Tinnerholm suffered a pulled hamstring in their last match, Thiago Martins and Alfredo Morales have lower body injuries, Alexander Callens remains out with an MCL injury, while Keaton Parks will be sidelined due to a calf strain.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Bye, Farrell, Kessler, Jones; Polster, Maciel; Boateng, Gil, Rivera; Bou
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Owusu, Gray, Chanot, Amundsen; Acevedo, Haak; Pereira, Rodriguez, Magno; Heber
We say: New England Revolution 1-0 New York City FC
Petrovic has settled into quite the groove with the Serbian keeper stealing several games for his side this year, and we expect him to come up big against a team who have struggled in the final third since the departure of Valentin Castellanos.
As comfortable as their position is in the Eastern Conference right now, the Pigeons have looked far too comfortable on the field lately, and that complacency has led many to question what this team have left coming into the stretch run of the campaign.
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