New York City FC will look to gain some ground on the New England Revolution when they host the Eastern Conference leaders at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
The Pigeons scored twice in the last 20 minutes to beat LAFC 2-1 in their last match, while the Revs have won three in a row after blanking FC Cincinnati 1-0 in their previous fixture.
Match preview
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Before the international break, New York City FC pulled off an emotional and gutsy victory against LAFC, erasing a 1-0 deficit late and scoring the winning goal just a few minutes after being reduced to 10-men when Nicolas Acevedo received a second yellow card.
That victory showed a lot of character for this team, who the week before that squandered a 1-0 lead to the Columbus Crew, only to lose 2-1 thanks to a goal deep into injury time from Lucas Zelarayan.
After a roller coaster couple of weeks emotionally, having some time off may have been a good thing for Ronny Deila and his side in order to keep the team level-headed and get their focus back on the matches to come.
New York have been successful through their opening seven games by starting quickly, with the Pigeons scoring inside of the opening 20 minutes in four fixtures this season, with two of those goals coming inside the first 10 minutes.
They are a very proactive side who like to press the opposition, which they may need to do a lot of this weekend if they are to slow down perhaps the best playmaker in MLS in Carles Gil.
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Eight games into their MLS season, things could not be going much better for Bruce Arena and the New England Revolution.
The Revs have won three in a row and they captured their first road win of the season before the international break, something that could serve as a huge confidence boost for a team that will play five of their next seven matches away from Gillette Stadium.
The next few weeks will test the mettle of this squad as they play three games in nine days, beginning with a visit to New York on Saturday, against a side who could move to within three points of New England in the Eastern Conference standings with a victory.
Like other MLS teams, New York will be keen to shut down Gil in the middle of the field, a task that has proven easier said than done for the teams that have faced him so far.
The Revs have built their attack around the 28-year-old former Aston Villa midfielder, and it has paid off handsomely, as he leads the league in assists with five and is first when it comes to key passes with 45.
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Team News
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New York still have a long list of injuries to contend with, including midfielder Gedion Zelalem and left-winger Talles Magno who both have knee injuries.
Right-back Anton Tinnerholm has a muscle injury, central midfielder Alfredo Morales has a tear in his abductor muscle, and centre forward Heber has a cruciate ligament rupture.
They have yet to sort out the visa situation for left winger Thiago Andrade which means he is unlikely to see the field this weekend, and Alexandre Callens is with the Peru national team at the Copa America
The Pigeons are third in MLS in goals with 13, five of which have come from Jesus Medina, who is third in the league in that department.
Revs goalkeeper Matt Turner made four saves in their victory against Cincinnati for his third clean sheet of this campaign, putting him just one behind Joe Willis of Nashville and Pedro Gallese from Orlando City SC.
Teal Bunbury is without a goal in his last two appearances and will hope to see the field on Saturday against a side he enjoys playing, having scored three goals against New York in his Revs career.
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Ibeagha, Sands, Chanot; Jasson, Rocha, Parks, Amundsen; Medina; Castellanos, Moralez
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Turner; Jones, Kessler, Farrell, Bye; McNamara, Polster; Traustason, Gil, Maciel; Buksa
We say: New York City FC 1-2 New England Revolution
These are two evenly matched teams, with both sides possessing some strong attacking options and both in a strong position in the Eastern Conference.
New England have not won four straight games in a regular-season campaign since 2015, when they won six matches in a row, but you get a sense of genuine eagerness and determination from the Revs, who have been able to find ways to win all season.
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 York City FC win with a probability of 48.52%. A win for New England Revolution had a probability of 27.8% and a draw had a probability of 23.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a New York City FC win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.8%) and 2-0 (7.59%). The likeliest New England Revolution win was 1-2 (6.89%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2.5% likelihood.
