MLS Regular Season | Match #26
New England Revolution vs. St. Louis CITY SC
Saturday, September 7 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
English Talent: Jake Zivin (play-by-play), Taylor Twellman (analyst)
Spanish Talent: Oscar Salazar (play-by-play), Diego Tabares (analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English) 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Charlie Davies (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
13th in Eastern Conference (8-15-2, 26 pts.)
Last Result | 2-0 loss at Real Salt Lake
Last Saturday’s trip to Salt Lake City did not go quite as well as for the Revolution as the previous weekend’s travels north of the border to face CF Montréal. Head coach Caleb Porter chalked up his team’s 2-0 defeat at Real Salt Lake to a poor overall performance in the first half, but felt that the team did improve after the break, particularly when recovering starters were subbed in – players who may have a chance to start this time around against St. Louis CITY SC.
Porter has also assured fans that last Saturday’s stumble was by no means fatal to the team’s playoff hopes, but did emphasize that New England’s four remaining home games, including this first-ever meeting between the Revs and St. Louis, would be critical for that fight. With an early reunion also on the cards for Revolution defender Tim Parker and CITY SC defender Henry Kessler with their former clubs, Saturday night’s faceoff is set to be meaningful in more ways than one.
St. Louis CITY SC
13th in Western Conference (5-10-12, 27 pts.)
Last Result | 2-1 win vs. LA Galaxy
It’s never a bad day at the office when you can take away a win from your conference leader. After a fairly successful Leagues Cup run that saw CITY SC bow out in the Round of 16 to Club América – and few teams get past Club América, to be fair – St. Louis has jumped back into MLS play well, eking out a nail-biting 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers before last Sunday’s impressive 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy.
If there’s anything going against CITY SC ahead of this weekend’s clash, though, it is the fact that they are the only team left in MLS without a win on the road all season. Of course, that would no longer have been the case were it not for a breathtaking Evander free kick at 90’+9 in Portland, but it will nevertheless still be a monkey on the back of the young franchise as they embark on this first trip to Gillette Stadium.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution winger Dylan BorreroAn assist in his first appearance back from injury is exactly what Revolution fans would have been hoping to see from winger Dylan Borrero. After an emotional return to play following a year on the sidelines with an ACL injury, Borrero’s season was again disrupted by injury over the summer, though fortunately nothing nearly so severe; now that he’s back on the field, he’s gone right back to showing just how talented of a footballer and an attacker he is.
It was particularly promising that Borrero’s helper went to the debutant, Luca Langoni, over on the opposite wing. Coach Porter has said all season that his preferred system includes a “pocket” winger and a “stretch” winger, and signs are positive that the Colombian and the Argentinian can fill those roles. With another week of training under their belts, hope is also high that both young wingers will be available from the start on Saturday against CITY SC.
St. Louis goalkeeper Roman BürkiSt. Louis CITY SC made a strong statement of intent by signing Swiss goalkeeper Roman Bürki from German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund when they burst onto the MLS scene. The veteran shot stopper played a crucial role in the club’s successful first season in the league, and while CITY SC are not reaching the same heights as their debut campaign this time around, Bürki is still a force to be reckoned with for any opposing attack.
The MLS All-Star has perhaps struggled of late, conceding nine goals across his last three starts, but has also kept six clean sheets across the season, tied for sixth best in the league. Porter spoke this week about how his own goalkeeper, Aljaž Ivačič, has done well despite having had to face more shots than would be ideal; perhaps the key on Saturday night will be to pose a similar challenge to the keeper guarding the opposite goal.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Revolution head coach Caleb Porter on Saturday’s match against St. Louis CITY SC:
“We need to bounce back from the last game [at Real Salt Lake]. We had a good two video sessions, actually. We focused on the first half, some of the mistakes we made, things we need to do better with. And then the second half, a lot of the positives. I felt like in the second half, the energy was better, the intensity, and the execution overall of the details. We created three or four quality chances, and probably should have scored at least one or two goals. We are going to build off that second half, it looked more like us and more like the way we want to play. I am very confident that we're going to respond and have a great performance in this next game. I think we have had a very good week of training.”
Porter on the importance of the team’s remaining home games:
“We need to win all of our home games from here. We’ve got four home games and if we take care of business in all our home games and take a result on the road, we are probably in good shape. That's the mindset in these last nine games, is win all our home games starting with St. Louis.”
Porter on the emerging partnership between wingers Dylan Borrero and Luca Langoni:
“Yeah, really good when they have been on the field, which isn't much. They have been extremely dangerous. They’ve created a ton of chances. In that first half [last Saturday], we didn't get behind Salt Lake enough. In the second half, we got behind them a lot and we had a couple breakaways and good chances to score. Now with more time, more training, and more minutes in games, I'm confident these guys are going to cause problems.”
Revolution defender Tim Parker on facing his former team this weekend:
“Just someone I'm familiar with, I would say. They're kind of in a similar situation to us at the moment, in terms of trying to fight to get into the playoffs. So, it's just a home game for us that we need to capitalize on playing at home and winning that game.”
Revolution winger Dylan Borrero on the importance of winning at home:
“These are very important games. We have to be strong at home to make the playoffs, that’s what we want to do. We want to start on the right foot on Saturday and move past last weekend’s game in Salt Lake.”
Revolution forward Giacomo Vrioni on the challenge of Saturday’s game against St. Louis:
“Difficult, like every game at the end in this league. We don't have to see the standings, because in this league, you can win against everybody and you can lose against everybody, because every team has good experience and good quality of players. The most important thing, I think, is to focus on ourselves and what we are capable [of doing]. Like what I told before, we will try to win the game.”
