For the second time this year, Toronto and the New England Revolution will clash in the MLS regular season, this time at BMO Field on Saturday.
TFC are still holding onto the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference despite suffering a 3-2 defeat to Charlotte FC last weekend, while the Revs remain bottom of the conference following a 2-0 loss at New York City FC.
Match preview
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We saw a much more resilient Toronto side in Charlotte last week, but it was not enough, as some sloppy defending proved to be their undoing.
That has been a recurring theme for this team in recent outings, with the Reds conceding a combined 10 goals in their last three domestic affairs after giving up just one through their opening five fixtures.
It is safe to say the Reds are going through their first real slump in the John Herdman era, with Toronto currently on a three-match winless run after claiming at least a point in four of their opening five league games.
With a victory on Saturday, TFC will already match their total number of wins from the previous regular season (four), while two of their triumphs this year have occurred at BMO Field.
Toronto have a 100% record this season when leading at the half, something which has not happened to them since a 2-0 triumph over Atlanta United last month.
Their 1-0 victory over New England earlier in the campaign ended the Reds' five-match winless run against them in this competition.
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The joy of winning his first match as Revs manager was short-lived for Caleb Porter, whose side were handily knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) last week (9-2 on aggregate against Club America) and followed that up with a defeat to the Pigeons days later.
That extended their winless run away from home in MLS to 15 consecutive matches dating back to the previous campaign, with this team losing six successive league fixtures outside of Greater Boston.
Two of their next three domestic contests take place away from home, with the Revs in danger of losing four straight road matches in the same season for the first time since 2017, when they suffered eight successive defeats.
The Revs have not lost an MLS game in the regular season when scoring the opening goal since September 2022 (2-1 versus the New York Red Bulls), though they have only done that once in 2024, defeating Charlotte 1-0 earlier this month.
Saturday will mark their first visit to Canada this season, with New England losing two of their last three regular-season affairs played in the Great White North.
That said, they won their previous encounter at BMO Field last year (2-1), while they have at least a point in five of their last six meetings with TFC.
Team News
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Kevin Long will not be available for Toronto this weekend after receiving a second caution deep into stoppage time in their defeat to Charlotte, Lorenzo Insigne sat out with a hamstring strain and Richie Laryea continues to recover from hamstring surgery.
Tyrese Spicer missed the Reds' previous encounter with a sore foot, Jordan Perruzza was sidelined with a sore ankle, Shane O'Neill was unavailable because of a thigh problem and Brandon Servania is out after rupturing his ACL.
A second-half brace from Prince Owusu was ultimately not enough to earn the Reds a point last week, though the German moved above Insigne for the team lead in goals this season, netting his second and third of the MLS campaign.
Last Saturday, the Revolution were once again missing Peyton Miller because of a foot injury, along with Brandon Bye and Dylan Borrero, who are both recovering from torn ACLs sustained last season.
Jonathan Mensah did not feature in the defeat versus NYCFC, but the Ghanaian defender could be back soon from a hamstring injury.
Dave Romney was inserted in place of Mensah last weekend, Andrew Farrell made his first appearance since March 23 and Mark-Anthony Kaye was an unused substitute for the second time in the Revs' last three MLS encounters.
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Rosted, Mabika, Gomis; Coello, Flores, Longstaff, Marshall-Rutty; Osorio; Bernardeschi, Owusu
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Ravas; Lima, Kessler, Romney, Jones; Polster, Harkes; N. Gil, C. Gil, Chancalay; Vrioni
We say: Toronto 2-2 New England Revolution
Neither side have been particularly strong defensively of late, so we expect to see plenty of opportunities for each, though we do not believe either will do enough to earn the three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
