FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The first-place New England Revolution heads north of the border in search of a sixth straight victory this weekend, visiting the Montreal Impact on Saturday night.
Kickoff between the Revs (7-3-2, 23 pts.) and Impact (1-6-4, 7 pts.) is set for 7 p.m., from Stade Saputo, with both Comcast SportsNet and 98.5 The Sports Hub covering the action.
Current Form: Revs aim to match club record with sixth straight win; Impact struggling
New England currently holds a four-point lead atop the Eastern Conference after securing a fifth straight win last weekend against D.C. United. A sixth consecutive victory on Saturday night in Montreal would match the club’s longest-ever winning streak, set during a club-record 11-game unbeaten run to open the 2005 season.
WATCH: Mullins, Fagundez stay red-hot as Revs top DCU at Gillette Stadium
Patrick Mullins also has the record book in his sights; he’s scored goals in four straight games to tie the rookie record established by Damani Ralph (Chicago Fire) back in 2003. Mullins’ hot streak has been matched in recent weeks by Diego Fagundez, who’s registered four goals and two assists in the last three games.
“I think it comes down to confidence,” Chris Tierney said of the Revolution’s seven-game (6-0-1) unbeaten run. “When you’re getting wins and scoring goals, you tend to be a little more willing to try things and play a little bit more free. At the moment, everyone’s just pretty confident and has that freedom to go out and try things.”
Saturday night’s opponent will be the Montreal Impact, which currently sits at the bottom of the MLS standings with just one win through the first 11 matches of the season. Montreal has scored a league-low nine goals, but the Revs are still very much wary of the Impact’s talented attacking corps.
READ: Revolution unconvinced by Impact’s recent struggles
Past Meetings: Revs head to Stade Saputo in search of third straight win in Montreal
The Revs have only registered two wins over the Impact since the Canadian club joined MLS in 2012, but those two victories were secured in the Revolution’s last two visits to Stade Saputo.
Both wins were hard-fought, 1-0 triumphs with a Revolution defender (A.J. Soares in 2012, Jose Goncalves in 2013) notching the game-winning goal.
Injury Report: Revs captain returns to the starting lineup; Impact quartet questionable
Captain and reigning MLS Defender of the Year Jose Goncalves returned to the Revolution’s starting lineup last weekend, going the full 90 minutes in the win over D.C. after missing five games with a right quad strain.
READ: Goncalves gives Revs a boost after six-week injury layoff
Fellow defender Kevin Alston has returned to health, as well; the outside back has been removed from the injury report after missing the past three matches with a hamstring injury.
Jerry Bengtson (Honduras World Cup duty) and Shalrie Joseph (L calf strain) remain unavailable, while Charlie Davies (R calf tightness) is listed as questionable.
Montreal lists four players as questionable entering the weekend – defenders Matteo Ferrari (calf), Nelson Rivas (hip) and Maxim Tissot (hip), as well as midfielder Sanna Nyassi (ankle).
Final Thoughts: Winning streak builds confidence, but Revs still “have plenty of work to do”
“I’ve been in this league long enough that I’ve been on seven-game winless streaks. Had I rolled over and given up then, I wouldn’t be here now,” said Tierney. “It’s about just maintaining that even keel. Things are going well and it’s great; it’s great for the fans. But at the end of the day, we’re still a third of the way through the season and we have plenty of work to do.”
