MLS Regular Season | Match #12
New England Revolution at Columbus Crew
Saturday, July 3 | 5 p.m. ET
Lower.com Field | Columbus, Ohio
Watch: ESPN, ESPN Deportes
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), WBIX 1260 Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
1st in Eastern Conference (7-2-2, 23 pts.)
Last Result | 2-1 loss at FC Dallas
New England returned from the international break with a hectic three-game week, claiming back-to-back 3-2 wins over New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls before closing the stretch with a 2-1 loss at FC Dallas. All told the Revs had won five straight games before Sunday’s setback in Texas, and they remain atop the Eastern Conference standings with the second-best 11-game start in club history (7-2-2, 23 pts.).
Following the Revolution’s only previous loss this season – 2-0 to Nashville SC back in early May – they responded with a 5-0-1 run, and they’ll be hoping for a similar bounce-back performance on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final.
Columbus Crew
5th in Eastern Conference (4-3-3, 15 pts.)
Last Result | 0-0 draw at Austin FC
The defending MLS Cup champs have recovered from a slow start to 2021, going 3-1-1 in their last five games since suffering a 1-0 loss to the Revs on May 16 at Gillette Stadium. Their defense has been rock solid as their seven goals against is tied for fewest in all of Major League Soccer, and they’ve conceded just once in three games since returning from the international break.
Columbus have conversely struggled to score in the early going as their nine goals are tied for second-fewest in MLS, but they did claim a recent 2-0 win over the Chicago Fire in the final game ever played at Historic Crew Stadium.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution forward Gustavo Bou
Not only has Gustavo Bou scored in each of his last four appearances – matching the longest stretch of his Revolution career – but he has also shown tremendous versatility in the process. Those four goals include a right-footed volley from distance, a left-footed first-time finish inside the box, and a pair of breakaways.
Bou currently leads the Revolution’s Golden Boot race with five goals and two assists.
Crew forward Gyasi Zardes
Despite the Crew’s attacking struggles this season Gyasi Zardes has proven in recent matches that he continues to be a goal threat in and around the penalty area. Zardes has scored each of Columbus’ last three goals dating back to May 29, including game winners against Chicago and Toronto FC. All three of those goals were scored within eight yards of the net, and two were first-time finishes.
Since moving to Columbus ahead of the 2018 season Zardes has scored double-digit goals in every campaign, racking up 47 goals in 91 appearances for the Black-and-Gold.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
Luis Caicedo is the only player listed on New England’s availability report as the Colombian midfielder continues to recover from surgery, with head coach Bruce Arena saying he anticipates a return “in the next month or so.” That means fellow Colombian Christian Mafla is off the list, having returned to training this week.
Wilfrid Kaptoum is also back in full training, and Arena said on Thursday that the central midfielder will be available for selection on Saturday in Columbus. Kaptoum has been limited to just 180 minutes over five appearances in his first season with the Revolution.
Matt Turner and Tajon Buchanan were named to Concacaf Gold Cup rosters on Thursday – Turner representing the U.S. and Buchanan joining Canada – and both will miss multiple games later this month, but they won’t depart until after the weekend, making them available for Saturday’s clash with the Crew.
Crew
Artur, who scored the lone goal in last year’s Eastern Conference Final, will miss Saturday’s match with a hip injury, and he’ll be joined on the sidelines by both Aidan Morris (knee) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (thigh).
An additional quartet is listed as questionable, with Luis Diaz (knee), Pedro Santos (thigh), Josh Williams (ankle), and Gyasi Zardes (calf) all dealing with injuries. Zardes and Santos were both in the starting XI when Columbus played to a 0-0 draw with Austin FC last weekend.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena
“Well, we have the second-best record in the league. So, I don't think we're doing as poorly as you might think. We played three games in a week and averaged two points a game. If you did that over a season, you'd have 68 points as a team. That was not a bad week for our team. Two away games, I believe that's correct, and one at home. That wasn't the worst week, so I don't think our guys are walking around with their heads in the sand. We're ready for the next game and they'll be ready to play on Saturday.”
New England Revolution forward Gustavo Bou
“I’m very happy, personally. The forwards live on the goal. To be able to score goals that sometimes tie a game or win a game, that makes me happy. Obviously, I think about the team before anything individual. I scored in the last game as we lost. The loss hurt us because we came into the game on a winning streak. But we’ve turned the page on that result, and we’re focused on Saturday.”
Columbus Crew head coach Caleb Porter
“I think it’ll be electric, loud, intimidating hopefully, and it’s always important to get the first three points. You want people to come into this facility and know that it’s very difficult to get points off your team, and build that mentality of winning. You build a little bit that intimidating factor with the fans and supporters that it’s very difficult to come in here and get anything off our team.”
Columbus Crew midfielder Marlon Hairston
“It’s pressure that we like to put on ourselves. We need a big result here this weekend. We went to Austin, we gave it everything we could, we fought to the end – credit to the guys for sticking to it and being able to come back here with at least a point. But we know at the end of the day, three points is what we strive for every weekend. Hopefully we can come here this weekend in front of a packed stadium, packed house, and they cheer us on to a big win this weekend.”
