The New York Red Bulls will try to extend their winning streak to three games for the first time since 2018, when they pay a visit to Gillette Stadium to face the Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution on Wednesday.
New England scored two minutes before injury time to win a see-saw game over New York City FC 3-2, while the Red Bulls shut down Nashville SC 2-0 on Friday.
Match preview
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Everything seems to be going right for the Revolution at the moment, with four consecutive victories, as they lead the Eastern Conference with 20 points and are just a point behind the Seattle Sounders for the best record in the league.
Each week it seems that a new hero emerges for this squad, with the latest being midfielder Tommy McNamara, who scored in the 88th minute as his side beat a pesky New York FC team who refused to go away.
McNamara is the eighth different Revs player to get his name on the scoresheet in 2021, which shows the depth and versatility of this team, who have proven through their first nine games that their run to the conference finals in 2020 was no fluke.
The Revolution are consistently finding ways to win, although Bruce Arena would like to see them wrap up these games a lot sooner in the future, as New England have won three of their previous four matches with 20 minutes or less remaining.
Winning four in a row is a feat that this team have not achieved since 2015, but they will be keen to keep that streak going, especially knowing that the Philadelphia Union and Orlando City SC are only five points behind them in the table.
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The Red Bulls showed a lot of poise and energy on Friday against a side known for their defensive prowess in Nashville, creating several scoring opportunities and putting their opponents on their heels with that high pressing style.
While the victory is the most important thing, they did catch a few lucky breaks, as CJ Sapong had an equaliser called back because of offside, and Hany Mukhtar hit the bar with less than 20 minutes remaining.
However, the big picture indicates that this team have made great strides, beating two formidable opponents back-to-back in Orlando and Nashville.
They are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, with only three points separating them from the second-place Lions.
Gerhard Struber will want to see his side play with the same swagger and confidence against another formidable opponent on Wednesday in the Revs.
He will undoubtedly preach the importance of playing hard for 90 minutes, something the Red Bulls failed to do in their previous encounter against New England, losing 3-1 last month.
It appears Red Bull Arena has become a difficult place to play for opponents, with New York winning four straight games at home, but on the road, it has been a whole other story as they have lost all three of their away games and have been outscored 7-3.
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Team News
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Revs midfielder Luis Caicedo has been out since the middle of April with a leg injury, and he is expected to miss this game on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner was splendid in his last outing, making a single-season high seven saves, while also denying a penalty in the 12th minute and making a critical stop in injury time to preserve the victory.
Midfielder Carles Gil continues to be a force in midfield with another two assists on Saturday, as he leads the league in that department with seven, while also leading in key passes with 46.
Last weekend, Jon Bell scored his first professional goal, becoming the first Revolution II graduate to find the back of the net for the first team in an MLS match.
For the Red Bulls, Youba Diarra is struggling to recover from a muscle injury, while centre-back Aaron Long will be missing for a while due to an Achilles tendon rupture.
Fabio partnered with Patryk Klimala for the first time this season, and it proved to be a successful combination, with the Brazilian netting for the first time in the 2021 campaign.
The Red Bulls will be missing Cristian Casseres, as the MLS leader in tackles won is in Brazil, representing Venezuela in the Copa America.
Right-back Tom Edwards started in midfield in their game against Nashville and showed his versatility and poise while also finding space in the middle of the pitch.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Turner; Jones, Bell, Kessler, Bye; Traustason, Maciel, Polster, McNamara; Gil; Bou
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Carlos; Duncan, Reyes, Nealis, Tolkin; Davis, Edwards, Amaya; Clark; Fabio, Klimala
We say: New England Revolution 2-1 New York Red Bulls
The Red Bulls have lost all three of their road games in 2021, while New England have won all of their games at home, going 4-0 so far.
Seven of the 10 goals that New York have conceded have come away from home, so expect Carles Gil to eventually find an opening for someone to score as New England should find a way to win yet again.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
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 58.24%. A draw had a probability of 21.8% and a win for New York Red Bulls had a probability of 19.98%.
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 1-0 (9.73%) and 2-0 (9.47%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.21%), while for a New York Red Bulls win it was 1-2 (5.36%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 3.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that New England Revolution would win this match.
