FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Another week, another pivotal Eastern Conference six-pointer.
Fresh off last weekend’s vital 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire, the New England Revolution will host another fellow playoff contender on Saturday night when they’ll welcome Toronto FC to Gillette Stadium. Just one point currently separates the sixth-place Revs (10-9-8, 38 pts.) from eighth-place TFC (10-10-7, 37 pts.).
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with NBC Sports Boston televising the match and streaming the action live for authenticated subscribers on NBCSportsBoston.com and the NBC Sports mobile app. Brad Feldman, Paul Mariner, and Naoko Funayama will have the English call both there and on 98.5 The Sports Hub, while Portuguese radio listeners can tune into 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.
Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. with Revolution Pregame Live, as Elizabeth Pehota and Jeff Lemieux will be joined by Charlie Davies to break down the starting lineups and biggest storylines, streaming live on the Revolution’s official Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channels, as well as on revolutionsoccer.net.
Revolution Postgame Live will begin immediately after the final whistle on NBC Sports Boston, while Matt McCarthy and former Revolution midfielder Clyde Simms will take calls during 30 minutes of postgame coverage on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Matchday Guide | Everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s pivotal match
Saturday night marks the Revolution’s fifth annual Concussion Awareness Night, as the club once again teams with ThinkTaylor – founded by New England’s all-time leading goal scorer, Taylor Twellman – in the mission to create change with regard to traumatic brain injuries.
Current Form: Revs and TFC both looking to solidify a place above the playoff line
With seven games left in the regular season New England and Toronto are separated by just one point in the East, but they’re also separated by the playoff line as the Revs currently occupy sixth place, while TFC sit in eighth, behind Montreal for the final playoff spot based on tiebreakers, but also with two games in hand.
The Revs are in that playoff spot thanks to last weekend’s dramatic 2-1 win over the Fire, in which Gustavo Bou drilled a long-distance winner in the 86th minute to secure the full three points. Bou now has five goals in his first seven appearances with the Revolution, including two game winners.
Highlights | Revs leave it late but claim critical win over Chicago
As important as that victory was to New England’s playoff hopes, Saturday night’s showdown with Toronto is just as big, and the Revs know that will essentially be the case for each of their final seven games.
“Every game from now on is like a final for us, and that’s the mindset we have,” Bou said through an interpreter. “We know every game from now on, every point, is going to be crucial. We’re hoping this Saturday, with the support of our fans at home, we can go out and get away with the three points.”
Training Report | Revs firmly focused on the Toronto task
TFC have gotten themselves back into the playoff conversation by taking points from their last three games (1-0-2), including a come-from-behind, 2-1 win over the rival Montreal Impact last weekend at BMO Field. Jozy Altidore has found his form recently, as well, notching five goals and two assists in the last eight games.
Altidore is part of Toronto’s solid spine, which Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena pointed out as the Canadian side’s biggest strength.
“They have very good players in important positions on the field, such as Altidore and (Michael) Bradley and (Omar) Gonzalez. (Alejandro) Pozuelo, as well,” said Arena. “They have key players down the middle of the field.”
Past Meetings: Revs have been dominant at home vs. TFC since 2014
Home-field advantage hasn’t just played a significant role in this series in recent years, it has been the determining factor in the past seven meetings, as the home team has won on each occasion. That includes three wins for the Revolution at Gillette Stadium, and four victories for Toronto FC at BMO Field.
In fact, the Revs have historically been dominant against TFC in Foxborough, going 10-2-4 in 16 meetings since the Reds joined MLS as an expansion team in 2007. That includes an ongoing seven-game unbeaten run, as the Revolution are 5-0-2 at home in this series since 2014.
Toronto, however, has had the upper hand north of the border, including a 3-2 win in the only previous meeting this season on March 17. Carles Gil notched his only MLS brace in that match, but it was cancelled out by an unfortunate non-offside call that saw the hosts score on the stroke of halftime.
Injury Report: Delamea returns, but Bunbury and Castillo both sidelined
Center back Antonio Delamea will be available for selection on Saturday night after missing the past three games because of a hamstring injury. The veteran defender returned to full training early this week, and he’ll provide an additional option on what’s been a relatively thin backline in recent weeks.
Read | More details on Delamea’s return and the injuries to Bunbury and Castillo
Two others, however, will be sidelined, as Teal Bunbury and Edgar Castillo have both been ruled out for the showdown with Toronto FC. Bunbury limped off in the 12th minute of last weekend’s win over Chicago with a hamstring injury, while Arena said Castillo will be out “for a while” with a rib injury suffered August 17 at Red Bull Arena.
Final Thoughts: Gil confident Revs are capable of making a deep playoff run
“It certainly is an exciting playoff race,” Gil said through an interpreter. “There are a lot of teams who are there sort of on the same points. It’s good for us over the last three months that we’ve been able to change a bit the negative situation we had initially.
“We’re on a good streak of games right now. We’re getting a lot of points. But we’re still going to keep working hard over the last seven games we have. I know that if we make it into the playoffs, our team is definitely capable of reaching as far as we can. Why not win the cup?”
