MLS Regular Season | Match #22
New England Revolution vs. D.C. United
Sunday, November 1 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: NBC Sports Boston
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA (Portuguese)
Revolution Pregame Live presented by Dan O’Brien Automotive Group (6:45 p.m. ET)
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CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
8th in Eastern Conference (7-6-8, 29 pts., 1.38 ppg)
Last Result | 1-0 loss at New York Red Bulls
New England clinched their spot in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night – their second straight year in the postseason and the 15th playoff berth in the club’s 25-year history – but they needed help to do so, as Aaron Long’s 89th-minute goal sank the Revs to a 1-0 loss against the New York Red Bulls.
Perched in 8th place in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining, the Revs will not only be looking to build momentum ahead of the postseason beginning in mid-November, but they’ll also be fighting to climb back into the conference’s top six spots and avoid the play-in round reserved for seeds 7-10.
D.C. United
12th in Eastern Conference (5-10-6, 21 pts., 1.00 ppg)
Last Result | 1-0 win vs. Columbus Crew SC
A resurgent D.C. United have rekindled their playoff hopes with a four-game unbeaten run (3-0-1), including three straight wins over FC Cincinnati, Atlanta United, and Columbus Crew SC. Prior to that trio of victories, D.C. had won just twice in their first 18 games of the regular season (2-10-6).
Interim head coach Chad Ashton has sparked D.C. to life, taking the reins from club legend Ben Olsen, who was relieved of head coaching duties in early October after 10 seasons and almost 400 games in charge. D.C. are 3-1-1 since the move, climbing from the bottom of the East to within touching distance of the 10th and final playoff spot.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution center back Henry Kessler
Henry Kessler, a frontrunner for MLS Rookie of the Year before the award was unceremoniously eliminated earlier this week, has emerged as one of the Revolution’s first-choice center backs alongside veteran Andrew Farrell, helping the Revs to one of the league’s best defensive records with 20 goals against through 21 games.
Kessler could have a particularly big role to play on set pieces against D.C., as Chad Ashton’s side have scored seven of their 20 goals this season from corners and indirect free kicks. The Revs, too, have been dangerous on attacking set pieces, as they scored from a pair of corners in a 2-1 win over D.C. on August 25.
D.C. United center back Donovan Pines
The backbone of D.C.’s resurgence has been a newfound defensive determination as they’ve conceded just two goals during their three-game winning streak, following up a stretch in which they conceded multiple goals in five straight games.
Homegrown center back Donovan Pines has been the centerpiece of D.C.’s resilience – particularly in the absence of stalwart Steve Birnbaum – playing every minute of the four-game unbeaten run and scoring the first two goals of his professional career in the process, twice getting on the end of set pieces.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
Carles Gil made his second straight 27-minute appearance in the midweek loss to the New York Red Bulls, another significant step in the process as he aims to approach full fitness ahead of the playoffs.
Gustavo Bou, meanwhile, has missed five of the past six games with a hamstring injury, but Bruce Arena has said that he’s close to returning and providing the Revs with a significant boost.
“Two of our better attacking players have been out in Gustavo Bou and Carles Gil,” said Arena. “As they get back into our team and get fitter and healthier and all of that, they’re going to help us to finish out the regular season and hopefully establish ourselves in the playoffs.”
D.C. United
The Black-and-Red have been beset by injury this season, and they’ll be without as many as six players on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium. Defenders Steve Birnbaum and Chris Odoi-Atsem are both listed as out, along with midfielders Paul Arriola, Ulises Segura, Felipe, and Mohammed Abu.
Meanwhile, center back Frédéric Brillant will serve a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena
“D.C. United has had a great run as of late. They’ve won their last three games, they’ve positioned themselves to be in the playoffs, so they’re going to come in here and be well prepared and gives us all we can handle. I believe this will be our fourth time we’re playing each other this year, so both teams know each other and it’s going to come down to which team can execute better.”
New England Revolution midfielder Diego Fagundez
“This is a huge game, especially at home. We haven’t been getting a lot of points at home so this is going to be a massive game. I think it’s one of our rivalries so we have to go out there and make sure that we’re performing to our best ability. I think we’re not playing 90-minute matches. I think we’re always making mistakes at the end, getting caused by corner kicks, free kicks, something. We need to be a little better on those things and if we do that we can definitely win any games. But at the same time we need to be mindful that this is what playoffs are going to be like. It’s going to be a 1-0 game or a 1-1 and then we go to PKs or something. We have to be prepared for that and do everything we can to make sure we’re winning these games.”
