MLS Regular Season | Match #14
New England Revolution at D.C. United
Sunday, September 27 | 7 p.m. ET
Audi Field | Washington, D.C.
Watch: New England Cable News (NECN), NBCSportsBoston.com, NBC Sports mobile app
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub HD2 (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA (Portuguese)
Revolution Pregame Live presented by Dan O’Brien Automotive Group (6:15 p.m.)
- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, revolutionsoccer.net
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
5th in Eastern Conference (4-3-6, 18 pts.)
Last Result | 3-1 win vs. Montreal Impact
Henry Kessler’s first career goal sparked a long-awaited offensive breakout for the Revs, who got additional strikes from Gustavo Bou and Diego Fagundez in a comfortable 3-1 win over the Montreal Impact on Wednesday night. It was both the Revolution’s first three-goal game of the season, and their first home win of the campaign.
Now the Revs will aim to build upon their midweek victory as they return to Audi Field, where goals from Bou and Teal Bunbury lifted the Revs to a 2-1 win over D.C. United one month ago.
D.C. United
14th in Eastern Conference (2-6-5, 11 pts.)
Last Result | 1-0 loss at Nashville SC
Ben Olsen’s side has struggled since returning from the MLS is Back Tournament, winning just once in eight matches (1-4-3). They’re winless in their last four (0-2-2) and have been shut out in three of those contests, including a 1-0 loss to expansion side Nashville SC on Wednesday night.
Goal-scoring has been particularly difficult for D.C., whose 11 goals are fourth-fewest in MLS behind FC Cincinnati (8), Nashville (10), and NYCFC (10).
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution winger Tajon Buchanan
Gustavo Bou and Teal Bunbury both scored when the Revs last visited Audi Field in late August and Adam Buksa hit the back of the net when New England and D.C. squared off at the MLS is Back Tournament, but United will be less familiar with young winger Tajon Buchanan.
Buchanan technically logged substitute appearances in both of those matches but officially clocked just one minute in each, and after scoring his first MLS goal two weeks ago at Philadelphia, the 21-year-old Canadian has been oozing confidence the past two games.
D.C. United midfielder Julian Gressel
While D.C. have struggled to find the back of the net this season they’ve been consistently dangerous from set pieces, due in part to the service of winger Julian Gressel. The former Providence College star has created 10 chances from set pieces (according to Opta), tied for eighth in MLS.
The 26-year-old Gressel, who registered 15 goals and 35 assists in three years with Atlanta United, is still searching for his breakout performance with his new club, with just one goal and one assist on the year.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
Injury forced Alex Büttner off in the 30th minute of Wednesday night’s win over Montreal, and the veteran defender will miss out on this weekend’s trip to D.C. DeJuan Jones replaced Büttner midweek and will be a leading candidate to fill that left back spot at Audi Field.
Tommy McNamara, meanwhile, appears ready to return after he was a late scratch from the starting XI against Montreal after dealing with a back spasm prior to the match.
D.C. United
The 2020 season has taken a toll on D.C., which has been hit hard by injury. No fewer than six players will miss Sunday’s game because of injury: Paul Arriola, Edison Flores, Felipe Martins, Ulises Segura, Kevin Paredes, and Mohammed Abu.
Additionally, midfielder Russell Canouse – who had just returned from an injury of his own – will be suspended after being sent off in the first half of D.C.’s midweek loss to Nashville.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena
“I think that’s what we’re anticipating, that they’re going to come out and be ready to play and make it real difficult on us. There’s no question about that. Benny [D.C. United Head Coach Ben Olsen] is usually able to get the most out of his teams, so I think coming back home after a bad loss in Nashville, they’re going to be ready to play at home and they’re going to give us all we can handle.”
New England Revolution forward Teal Bunbury
“It was huge. We’ve been harping on it, continuously working on it, and we knew at some point it was going to happen. We can’t be satisfied now but we’re definitely happy that the ball was hitting the back of the net a few times and now we’ve got D.C. [United] on the weekend and hopefully we can continue to emulate that. I think the thing I’m most pleased with is the way we’re working together as a unit and I think that if we continue that, the goals will continue to come. I think the more we create those chances, the more confidence we’re going to build.”
D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid
“Bruce [Arena] is smart. I think it’s been an interesting battle between Bruce and Ben [Olsen] so far this year, so it should be interesting to see how they line up to either try to deal with us playing out of the back, or utilize their pace that they like to keep on the wings, but high up the wings. From there we’ve just got to see how the game plays itself out, because I think it’s been some interesting battles – one at the tournament, and then obviously here at Audi Field. It’s going to be interesting to see how they line up because they know us well, we know them well, Bruce and Ben know each other well, so it’s an interesting battle this year.”
