In the sixth round of fixtures of the Major League Soccer season, New England Revolution and New York City FC will do battle at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.
Thanks to their eye-catching start to the campaign, the hosts sit at the summit of the Eastern Conference table, while their visitors are five points worse off after their five games.
Match preview
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After a disappointing MLS season last time around, in which they missed out on the playoffs entirely with a 10th-placed finish in the Eastern Conference and just 42 points from 34 outings, New England Revolution have kicked off the new term in much more impressive fashion.
In their five league games thus far, Bruce Arena's side have put 12 points on the board courtesy of four victories, having initially started with back-to-back triumphs before suffering their only setback so far, albeit a 4-0 thrashing away at Los Angeles FC to halt their momentum somewhat.
It did not take the Revs long to bounce back, though, as they immediately returned to winning ways at home to Nashville SC, with Gustavo Bou's goal making the only difference between the sides, before they most recently travelled to DC United last weekend with the aim of making it four victories from five.
That game looked set to end level as Bou had drawn them level after Christian Benteke's first-half opener, only for Noel Buck to pop up with a winner two minutes from time to continue their impressive run.
Now sitting at the top of the conference after five rounds of fixtures, New England Revolution will hope to establish their position as frontrunners in the coming weeks with a run of results, starting with what would be a third straight three-point haul at the weekend.
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They face a New York City side who will hope to kickstart their campaign properly, having not enjoyed the same consistency as their hosts thus far.
After reaching the Conference final in last season's playoffs, eventually missing out on an MLS Cup final place following a defeat to Philadelphia Union, they made a slow start to the 2023 term under the new management of Nick Cushing, losing their curtain-raiser 2-0 away at Nashville SC before only taking a point away at Chicago Fire in a 1-1 draw, as Gabriel Pereira's first half-opener was cancelled out by Fabian Herbers's leveller 115 minutes from time.
In the following meeting with Inter Miami, the Pigeons would put their first win on the board at the third time of asking, with Christopher McVey's own goal being the difference between the sides, before they made it back-to-back triumphs with a 3-2 victory at home to DC United, courtesy of goals from Talles Magno, Santiago Rodriguez and Thiago Andrade.
Hoping to make it three on the bounce and move into the leading pack in the Eastern Conference in the early stages of the season, Cushing's side most recently took on Houston Dynamo away from home last weekend, but they came away empty-handed as Amine Bassi's 55th-minute goal from the penalty spot sealed a 1-0 home victory.
On the back of their second MLS defeat of the season, leaving them on seven points from their opening five contests, New York City will definitely be keen to establish a run of consistency sooner rather than later to ensure they are once again at the top end of the Conference throughout the term, but they face a difficult task away at the leaders on Saturday.
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Team News
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New England Revolution may look to come into Saturday's game with an unchanged starting XI from their win over DC United, although Carles Gil will be keen to return to the starting XI, having made an impression off the bench in that game after returning from an injury setback.
Experienced forward Gustavo Bou will again lead the line, having made his first appearances of the season in the last three games and scored two goals along the way, while Giacomo Vrioni and Jozy Altidore are both fighting to displace Bobby Wood and join the Argentinian up front from the outset.
Five outfield players have featured in every minute of MLS action so far this term, with Henry Kessler and Dave Romney bound to again partner up in the middle of a back four, while Matt Polster is a mainstay in midfield and should again be joined by Noel Buck, who netted the late winner last weekend.
New York City FC may make changes from their defeat to Houston Dynamo, and Thiago Andrade will hope to earn his second start of the season on the wing, while the likes of Richard Ledezma, Andres Jasson and Kevin O'Toole are also pushing to come in from the outset.
Following the departure of star forward Valentin Castellanos in the off-season, there is plenty of attacking responsibility on forwards Talles Magno and Gabriel Pereira, after they netted seven and eight goals respectively in the MLS last season, with the former having also contributed eight assists.
James Sands and Thiago Martins will again partner up in the middle of the defence, while Keaton Parks has been a mainstay in midfield and could again be joined by Alfredo Morales unless Ledezma is preferred.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Bye, Kessler, Romney, Jones; Gil, Buck, Polster, Panayotou; Bou, Vrioni
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Barraza; Gray, Martins, Sands, Cufre; Parks, Ledezma; Pereira, Pellegrini; Magno, Rodriguez
We say: New England Revolution 2-0 New York City FC
New York City are yet to hit their stride this season, while the hosts have made a strong start, and we can only envisage another victory for the Revs on Saturday with home advantage and a squad full of quality.
How to watch
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