Old rivals face off for the final time in the 2022 MLS regular season as the New York Red Bulls wrap up a two-game homestand on Saturday when they host the New England Revolution.
New York have captured only one of their last seven matches in all competitions at Red Bull Arena, while the Revs ended a four-match losing run last Sunday, defeating New York City FC 3-0.
Match preview
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They faced down perhaps the most challenging week imaginable, battling the top two teams in the Eastern Conference (CF Montreal and the Philadelphia Union), coming away with three points, which in the long run might be as much as they could have expected.
Even though they began this month with a 2-0 defeat at home versus the Union, Gerhard Struber saw his side play sharp defensively in the opening half.
They held the highest-scoring unit in MLS in check before fatigue seemed to set in as New York allowed a goal three minutes into the second half.
Given the type of damage that Philly have done to their opponents this year, a 2-0 loss could serve as a moral victory for this group, who have only dropped points in one of their previous five regular-season affairs.
That defeat versus the Union, however, put their hopes of hosting an MLS playoff game for the first time since 2018 in jeopardy.
The Red Bulls are ahead of NYCFC and Orlando City by one and five points, respectively, though the Red Bulls have played more games than the Lions.
Following their fixtures this weekend, they only have one more regular season game at Red Bulls Arena, which is probably not a bad thing, seeing as New York are tied with Montreal for the most road wins (nine) heading into their match on Saturday.
Despite losing their previous home contest to the Revs in 2021 (3-2), New York have owned New England at Red Bulls Arena with points in 16 consecutive matches against them in New Jersey before that defeat last year.
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In desperate need of a victory at home to the reigning MLS Cup champions last weekend, Bruce Arena saw his group put together an outstanding offensive performance.
New England scored on half of their efforts on target (3/6), and their postseason hopes are still very much alive, trailing FC Cincinnati for seventh by a single point.
While they have not conceded in back-to-back encounters, New England have been bailed out by some outstanding goalkeeping, sustaining their share of pressure at Gillette Stadium versus the Pigeons, with only 35% possession, allowing seven shots on target.
Saturday will be the first of two matches for the 2021 Supporters' Shield winners on the road, where they have captured only one of their previous seven encounters domestically.
Last season, their offensive output helped them come away with numerous narrow victories, winning six times by a 3-2 score.
With their offence a little thinner because of numerous transfers since the end of the 2021 campaign, New England have had to grind out more results this year, while also riding a hot goalkeeper, failing to score on six occasions, but posting eight clean sheets themselves.
They have failed to win their last four matches in which they had conceded the opening goal, already losing nine fixtures this year, four more than they had by the end of the 2021 regular season.
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Team News
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Carlos Coronel has conceded in seven straight MLS home outings for the Red Bulls, while Daniel Edelman and Caden Clark have scored once each this year, with both goals coming on their home field.
Lewis Morgan has goals in two of his last three games, leading the team with 13 tallies this year, Luquinhas has not found the back of the net domestically since June 18, though he has still scored the second-most goals for New York this year (five), while Cristian Casseres leads them in assists with five.
Patryk Klimala, who is tied with Luquinhas for second in goals, is questionable with a sore ankle, while Frankie Amaya could be a game-time decision because of a groin strain.
Zach Ryan is out with a shoulder issue, Serge Ngoma has a pulled hamstring, Cameron Harper remains sidelined with a quad injury and Dru Yearwood has been ruled out of this contest after being cautioned twice in injury time last weekend.
Last Sunday, Noel Buck became the second-youngest player in Revs history to score a goal for them in a league fixture (17 years, 152 days).
That feat historically has only been bested by former New England attacking midfielder Diego Fagundez (16 years 173 days).
Their opening goal versus NYCFC came from one of their most unlikely sources as Jon Bell tallied his first of the campaign, Tommy McNamara scored for the third time this season, Carles Gil had two chances created and is three away from hitting the century mark, while Djordje Petrovic matched his season-high for saves with seven, collecting his seventh shutout of 2022, and needing three more to tie the club record set by Matt Reis.
Leg injuries might be contagious with the Revolution as Wilfrid Kaptoum, Dylan Borrero, Giacomo Vrioni, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi and Jacob Jackson all missed their previous match for that reason.
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Duncan, S. Nealis, Long; D. Nealis, Edelman, Clark, Tolkin; Luquinhas, Morgan; Fernandez
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Jones, Farrell, Kessler, Bell; Polster, Maciel; Buck, Gil, McNamara; Bou
We say: New York Red Bulls 0-2 New England Revolution
In a short period, Petrovic has made fans of the New England Revolution forget about all-star goalkeeper Matt Turner, who stole numerous matches for them in 2021.
The Serbian is in a groove, and given his form, combined with the fact that the Red Bulls rarely take chances going forward, we expect him to stand tall and give his side another valuable three points.
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