The New England Revolution return from the international break in search of their first road victory at Children's Mercy Park since 2014 when they visit Sporting Kansas City for the first time in the 2022 Major League Soccer campaign.
KC are at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, with 13 points after 15 matches, while last season's Supporters' Shield winners have points in five straight league contests, currently two points back of a postseason berth out East.
Match preview
© Reuters
At this point of the regular season, it is safe to say that Kansas City are not at the level we are used to seeing, with just three wins up to now, as they are currently off to their worst start to a campaign since they rebranded.
They come into the month of June five points behind the Houston Dynamo for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
It is rare that the side from Greater Boston pay a visit to Kansas City, but when they do, SKC seem to handle themselves well, suffering only one home defeat against the Revs in their previous 11 trips to the Show Me State.
Their overall performances have improved since being hammered 7-2 at Providence Park against the Portland Timbers, but they are lacking scoring depth, currently with the fewest tallies in the league (13) with more than half of their goals coming from two players.
In the 2021 regular season, Peter Vermes's men were among the top defensive units, conceding the third-fewest goals in the Western Conference (40) however, they have allowed more than half of that total already in 2022 (26), and we are not even halfway through the season.
When they can draw first blood, Kansas City are a tough team to contend with, having lost only twice in that scenario this year, although that scenario has rarely transpired this season.
© Reuters
With the recent run that the Revs have put together, the two-week international window may not have been a good thing for Bruce Arena and his players.
New England come into this encounter unbeaten in five consecutive league fixtures and are starting to find the back of the net more frequently, scoring multiple times in seven of their last eight MLS affairs.
So far this season, they have done most of their damage away from home, currently tied for the league lead in average goals per road match at 2.0.
Like their opponents this weekend, the Revolution are lacking enough support in all phases of the game, and someone will need to step up in the weeks to come after their leading goalscorer was recently transferred, while their first-choice goalkeeper will be moving to the Premier League soon.
Last month, New England showed plenty of fighting spirit, collecting points in all four of their league fixtures, despite conceding first on two occasions.
The Revs are a team with plenty of quality individuals in attack and midfield, although they have not figured out how to finish off their opponents, squandering six points from winning positions in three of their last four regular-season games.
- D
- D
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- W
- D
- D
- W
- D
- W
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Johnny Russell has three goals in his last three games for KC, as he and Daniel Salloi are tied for the team lead, each tallying four times in this domestic campaign.
Midfielder Roger Espinoza is third in the league in possessions won in the attacking third at 16, while he has also scored once.
The Kansas City injured list includes Alan Pulido (knee surgery), Gadi Kinda (knee surgery) and Ozzie Cisneros (hamstring), while there are several players listed as questionable, such as Graham Zusi (thigh), Khiry Shelton (hamstring) and Nikola Vujnovic (calf).
Remi Walter still leads the league in terms of distance covered, with the KC midfielder covering 106.2 miles in 1,350 minutes of action, and Felipe Hernandez leads them in assists with three.
Henry Kessler is questionable for New England because of a leg injury, while Gustavo Bou made his first start in their previous encounter, scoring from the penalty spot.
Bou will be counted upon to contribute plenty more as the team recently sold Adam Buksa to Lens in Ligue 1, while Matt Turner will leave the Revs for North London to join Arsenal next month.
DeJuan Jones surpassed 6,000 minutes played in the regular season while also recording a team-high two blocked shots in their draw versus the Philadelphia Union, and Arnor Traustason made his first start in MLS play since April 9.
Andrew Farrell went past a historic milestone himself against Philly, exceeding 25,000 minutes played in the regular season of Major League Soccer.
Wilfrid Kaptoum started his second consecutive league game, Dylan Borrero picked up his second career MLS cap in their previous game and Carles Gil is tied for the league lead in assists and chances created.
Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Melia; Sweat, Isimat-Mirin, Fontas, Ndenbe; Rad, Espinoza, Walter, Hernandez; Russell, Salloi
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Turner; Bye, Farrell, Bell, Jones; Kaptoum, McNamara; Lletget, Gil, Polster; Bou
We say: Sporting Kansas City 1-2 New England Revolution
We have seen a significant drop from both teams so far this year, but the Revs have shown a lot more fight than KC, who we believe will have a hard time containing Carles Gil's ball movement, vision and creativity, which should help New England extend their unbeaten run.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
