For the first time since 2019, the Vancouver Whitecaps will visit Gillette Stadium on Saturday to face the New England Revolution in an MLS match.
The Revs remain at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table despite a 1-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls the last time out, while the Whitecaps beat the Colorado Rapids 2-1, moving into fifth out West.
Match preview
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June has felt like a rebirth in New England, with the Revs currently on a two-match winning run in league play and with a chance to equal their longest regular season winning run from 2023 this weekend.
Those two victories have temporarily alleviated the pressure on manager Caleb Porter, as only three points currently separate his side from Atlanta United, who are 13th in the East.
Their inability to build effectively out from the back has been apparent throughout the regular season, and that has forced their star playmaker, Carles Gil, to drop a lot deeper to win balls, negatively impacting the Revs' ability to create scoring chances.
As a result, the Revolution have scored the fewest goals in MLS this year (12), while their full-backs have not been able to get forward as effectively.
On Saturday, they have a chance to win consecutive league contests at Gillette Stadium for the first time since July 2023 (two).
New England are unbeaten in their last five league fixtures versus Vancouver, having won their previous two home meetings against them by a combined margin of 5-0.
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After a difficult run of form between late April and the middle of May, the Whitecaps have turned their fortunes around in recent outings.
Vanni Sartini's men won consecutive league contests before the international break and can claim three consecutive domestic victories this weekend for the first time since September-October 2022.
In many respects, the Caps have looked like the side we saw last year, often using a double-pivot and inverted wing-backs, though their aggressive disposition this season has made them much more dangerous in the attacking third.
The Caps have points in back-to-back domestic contests away from home, conceding just a single goal at the Seattle Sounders (1-1 draw) and Sporting Kansas City (2-1 win).
Since a 2-1 defeat versus Real Salt Lake in March, the Caps are unbeaten in their last six domestic affairs when netting the opening goal, winning five of those encounters.
Vancouver have lost four of their six visits to Greater Boston all-time, with their only away triumph against the Revs coming in late June 2015 (2-1).
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Team News
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In their victory over the Red Bulls, New England were without Tomas Chancalay, who had a knee issue, Nacho Gil is still dealing with a meniscus problem and Tommy McNamara has a hamstring strain.
Brandon Bye continues to recover from a torn ACL, and reserve goalkeeper Henrich Ravas will be with the Slovakian national team when Euro 2024 commences this weekend.
Emmanuel Boateng had the only goal of their previous encounter with fewer than 10 minutes remaining, while Aljaz Ivacic collected his second clean sheet between the sticks since joining New England from the Portland Timbers.
Sam Adekugbe missed the previous Vancouver match with a calf injury, while Fafa Picault should be back in the fold after representing Haiti during the international break.
It seems likely that Andres Cubas will be selected to the Paraguay squad for the Copa America, while Javain Brown and Ali Ahmed have a chance to be chosen for Jamaica and Canada, respectively, though they might all be available for the Caps this weekend.
Ryan Gauld has six goal contributions in his last four MLS encounters, with the Scotsman assisting on their two strikes against the Rapids scored by Sebastian Berhalter and Damir Kreilach.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Lima, Arreaga, Romney, Jones; Kaye, Polster; Panayotou, C. Gil, Borrero; Vrioni
Vancouver Whitecaps possible starting lineup:
Takaoka; Laborda, Veselinovic, Blackmon; Ahmed, Schopf, Cubas, Vite; Picault, White, Gauld
We say: New England Revolution 1-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
Both sides are in good form while playing strong defensively, and we expect that trend to continue on Saturday, with neither having a decisive edge.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
