MLS Regular Season | Match #15
New England Revolution at Atlanta United FC
Wednesday, May 31 | 7 p.m. ET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta, Ga.
Watch: FREE on _MLS Season Pass_ on Apple TV, FS1
- English Talent (Apple TV): Jake Zivin (play-by-play), Taylor Twellman (analyst)
- English Talent (FS1): Nate Bukaty (play-by-play), Tony Meola (analyst)
- Spanish Talent (Apple TV): Jorge Perez Navarro (play-by-play), Marcelo Balboa (analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
- English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Rachel Wood (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
3rd in Eastern Conference (7-3-4, 25 pts.)
Last Result | 3-3 draw vs. Chicago Fire FC
The Revs rediscovered their attacking form on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, but ultimately settled for a single point in their wild 3-3 draw with Chicago Fire FC. New England erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 with goals from Noel Buck, Bobby Wood, and Jozy Altidore, snapping a stretch of three straight losses in all competitions and maintaining their unbeaten home record (4-0-3) in league play.
Now the Revs will head back out on the road for a pair of games this week, as they’ll follow up Wednesday night’s visit to Atlanta with a Saturday afternoon trip to New York City FC. They’ll then spend the remainder of June in Foxborough, playing three straight at home against Inter Miami CF, Orlando City SC, and Toronto FC.
Atlanta United FC
5th in Eastern Conference (6-4-5, 23 pts.)
Last Result | 1-1 draw at Orlando City SC
Atlanta started the season red hot but hit a brief stumbling block in late April and early May, suffering four straight losses in all competitions. The Five Stripes have since rebounded with a string of three straight games without defeat (1-0-2), including road draws in their last two games against Chicago and Orlando. Those results leave Atlanta sitting just two points back of New England in the East standings heading into this midweek showdown.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium has largely been a fortress for Atlanta this year with five wins from seven home games (5-1-1), including a comprehensive 4-0 win over the Colorado Rapids in their last game in The Peach State. They’ve been led by a barnstorming attack, which has averaged more than two goals per game at home.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution forward Bobby Wood
Bobby Wood added another goal and assist to his tally in Saturday night’s draw with Chicago, bringing the 30-year-old forward’s totals up to a team-leading four goals and three assists in 12 appearances this season. Those are both MLS highs for Wood, who totaled five goals and two assists in 31 regular season appearances during his two seasons with Real Salt Lake.
Wood could be a key figure on Wednesday night as the Revolution’s attack may well need to keep pace with an Atlanta team that has scored 16 goals in seven home games this season.
Atlanta midfielder Thiago Almada
The hosts feature a wide array of attacking weapons – including newcomer Giorgos Giakoumakis, who has bagged eight goals in the first 594 minutes of his MLS career – but Thiago Almada is the maestro who runs the show for Atlanta. The 22-year-old midfielder has registered six goals and an MLS-best eight assists in 13 appearances this year, with three of those goals coming from direct free kicks.
Almada is also a FIFA World Cup winner, having lifted the trophy alongside Lionel Messi as part of the Argentina squad that bested France this past December. In the process, Almada became the first active MLS player to be crowned a World Cup champion.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
Six players remain out with injuries – Dylan Borrero (ACL surgery), Brandon Bye (left shoulder), Nachol Gil (right leg), Henry Kessler (hamstring surgery), Maciel (left Achilles), and Tommy McNamara (left leg) – while Damian Rivera is also currently unavailable while on international duty with the Costa Rica Under-23s.
There is positive progression for Gustavo Bou, who has been upgraded to questionable having missed the last four games with a left leg injury.
Atlanta
The Five Stripes listed four players as unavailable ahead of last weekend’s 1-1 draw in Orlando: Ozzie Alonso (ACL recovery), Erik López (ankle), Amar Sejdić (calf), and Caleb Wiley (Under-20 World Cup). Two others – Brad Guzan (MCL) and Santiago Sosa (ankle) – were listed as questionable, but both started at Exploria Stadium.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena
“I don't know if this week's any different than the past five weeks, but we have to count on everybody. At the Atlanta game we’ll get to see what our team looks like for Saturday and probably make changes there.”
New England Revolution forward Jozy Altidore
“We’ve got to get through this. That's the message to get through these run of games, because we have a lot of players out like you said, so we want to get through this stretch, get through the next three, four weeks and hopefully start to get guys back. We're not the finished product yet and we still have a number of key pieces out, so I think we're all eager to see what we look like at full strength. So, the idea is to get through these weeks, try to get points where we can and make sure we stay up there on the table.”
