Another chapter in the Boston-New York rivalry occurs at Yankee Stadium on Saturday when New York City FC have a chance to end a six-match winless run in MLS when they battle the New England Revolution.
Earlier this week, the Boys in Blue lost their second successive encounter by a 3-1 margin, this time versus FC Cincinnati, while the Revs have picked up back-to-back 3-3 draws, the last one coming on Wednesday against Atlanta United.
Match preview
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Frustration continues to mount in New York, with Nick Cushing's men claiming just a single point in their previous six domestic affairs as they find themselves second from the bottom in the Eastern Conference.
Their midweek defeat versus the Orange and Blue ended an 11-game unbeaten run for NYCFC in the regular season at Yankee Stadium, as they lost in the Bronx for the first time since March 2022 (2-0 to the Philadelphia Union).
They have not lost at Yankee Stadium against New England since October 2020 (2-1), beating them in each of their previous three encounters, scoring multiple times on each occasion, including a 4-2 triumph in MLS play last year.
The Pigeons have gone into half time behind in five domestic encounters this season and have only managed to collect one point in those fixtures, while they have conceded the opener in six of their last seven matches in all competitions.
NYCFC desperately need a break from somewhere, and playing in June seems to bring out the best in them, having suffered just three defeats in this month since the start of 2017.
Another encouraging sign that they can take with them this weekend is the fact that this club have not suffered consecutive regular-season defeats at Yankee Stadium since their inaugural MLS campaign in 2015.
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One dramatic comeback was apparently not enough for the Revolution, who managed to salvage another point in the latter stages of a domestic encounter.
The Revs have picked up six points domestically this season after conceding the opening goal, having gone behind 1-0 in four of their previous five matches in all competitions.
While they have produced some memorable finishes of late, New England enter this contest without a win in their last four MLS affairs, three of which occurred away from home.
Their goalscoring touch has been evident since the start of the season, and Bruce Arena's men have not been consistent defensively, conceding 11 goals in their last four matches, as many as they had allowed in their previous six MLS games combined.
Leading at the interval has usually turned out well for the Revs of late, unbeaten in their last 13 regular season clashes when going into the half in front.
They have not lost a regular season encounter when netting multiple times since that defeat mentioned above versus NYCFC in July 2022.
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Team News
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Talles Magno, Thiago Martins and Mitja Ilenic were all sidelined from the NYCFC lineup on Wednesday due to lower body injuries, while Tayvon Gray will be a late scratch with MLS announcing he is not eligible to play after allegedly using language in the defeat to Cincinnati on Wednesday which violates league policy.
On Wednesday, Tony Alfaro, Stephen Turnbull and Matt Freese each earned their first start of the 2023 regular season in a Pigeons uniform, while Braian Cufre notched his first MLS goal after joining them on loan from Mallorca.
Magno had the equalising goal in their previous encounter versus the Revs this year, while the Brazilian also netted the last time they faced them in the Bronx, when ex-striker Taty Castellanos had a brace with Gabriel Pereira also finding the back of the net.
Gustavo Bou may be a question mark for New England this weekend as he has a sore left leg, Damian Rivera is on international duty with the US at the Under-20 World Cup, while Tommy McNamara (left leg), Maciel (left Achilles), Henry Kessler (right hamstring), Nacho Gil (right leg), Brandon Bye (left shoulder) and Dylan Borrero (left knee) were all out of the lineup on Wednesday through injury.
Carles Gil notched his fourth and fifth of the season earlier this week, his second multi-goal game in MLS since 2019, while Bobby Wood also notched his fifth of the domestic campaign.
Emmanuel Boateng was in the starting 11 for a seventh straight match, Omar Gonzalez started for the first time in the regular season, Andrew Farrell began at right-back for the first time since July 2019 and Justin Rennicks came on as a second-half substitute, winning a team-high seven duels.
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Barraza; Benalcazar, Chanot, Turnbull, Alfaro; Parks, Sands; Rodriguez; Pereira, Segal, Ledezma
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Farrell, Makoun, Romney, Jones; Polster, Buck; Blessing, C. Gil, Boateng; Wood
We say: New York City FC 2-2 New England Revolution
New York cannot seem to buy a win at the moment, and as creative as they can look at times, it means nothing without the finished product.
Although New England have found ways to pick up points, they have not shown that killer instinct to put a match to bed, and we believe that will cost them this weekend.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
