MLS Regular Season | Match #21
New England Revolution vs. D.C. United
Wednesday, August 18 | 7 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: TV38, myRITV
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), WBIX 1260 Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
Revolution Pregame Live (6 p.m. ET)
- Facebook, YouTube, revolutionsoccer.net
- Special guest Revolution legend Matt Reis
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
1st in Eastern Conference (13-3-4, 43 pts.)
Last Result | 2-1 win at Toronto FC
Gustavo Bou stayed red-hot with his 11th goal in his last 13 appearances, Ontario native Tajon Buchanan scored in front of friends and family on his homecoming, and the Revs extended their unbeaten run to a season-best seven games (6-0-1) with a 2-1 win over Toronto FC on Saturday night at BMO Field. Bou bagged the decisive goal from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute – the fourth time this season the Revs have scored a game winner in the 83rd minute or later.
New England stretched their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings to 12 points while maintaining a six-point edge in the Supporters’ Shield race. Now the Revs return to Gillette Stadium for two games in a four-day span, aiming to improve upon a league-best 7-1-1 home record.
D.C. United
6th in Eastern Conference (8-8-3, 27 pts.)
Last Result | 5-2 loss at Nashville SC
D.C. had a five-game unbeaten run (3-0-2) snapped in emphatic fashion on Sunday night, suffering a 5-2 loss to Nashville SC at Nissan Stadium. The visitors – who had picked up points on their previous three road trips – were undone defensively as they conceded more than two goals in a game for the first time since early May.
Even with Sunday’s loss Hernán Losada’s side are 6-3-3 in their last 12 games and above the playoff line in the Eastern Conference. They played the Revs tough in just the second game of the season back on April 24 at Gillette Stadium, with New England claiming a hard-fought, 1-0 win on a second-half own goal.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution left back DeJuan Jones
Several of New England’s attacking weapons have garnered praise this season – from Carles Gil, to Gustavo Bou, to Tajon Buchanan, to Adam Buksa – but it’s young left back DeJuan Jones who has been one of the Revolution’s unsung heroes at both ends of the field. Jones has been a staple at left back, starting 17 of New England’s 20 games, and his four assists are tied for second on the team.
Jones helped lock down TFC’s attempts to attack down the right last weekend, while he also provided the assist on Tajon Buchanan’s opening goal. Against a D.C. side that sometimes leaves space to attack on the wings, Jones could be key in exploiting that space on Wednesday.
D.C. United forward Ola Kamara
Few forwards can claim to be as hot as Gustavo Bou at the moment, but Ola Kamara is on that shortlist. The 31-year-old Norwegian is tied for third in the MLS Golden Boot race with 11 goals, having racked up that total in just 714 minutes of action (1.39 goals per 90 minutes). He has scored in six straight games heading into Wednesday night, and has registered 10 goals in his last nine appearances. While Kamara leads D.C. with 11 goals, no one else on the team has scored more than twice.
Kamara has also been something of a Revolution killer during his time in MLS with six goals against New England, including five with the Columbus Crew and a penalty last year while with D.C. United.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
Carles Gil and Luis Caicedo remain unavailable as both are listed as out on the Revolution’s availability report, but there was good news for Matt Polster after the central midfielder limped off in the second half of this past weekend’s win over Toronto.
“He bruised his knee,” Arena said on Tuesday. “We’re hopeful that he gets through today and we can consider him for tomorrow. We’ve got a few guys that are banged up like every team in the league.”
D.C. United
A side that has dealt with injuries all season, D.C. will be without at least six players for Wednesday night’s meeting with the Revolution, including standout goalkeeper Bill Hamid (hamstring), midfielder Russell Canouse (ankle), and center backs Donovan Pines (foot) and Brendan Hines-Ike (hip). Adrien Perez (foot) and Nigel Robertha (groin) are also listed as out, while Edison Flores (hamstring) is questionable after making his first appearance since late May on Sunday night at Nashville.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena
“I think we made a point of this in preseason, sort of building the team for 2021, and we talked about the importance of having depth and how important it was for everyone to be good professionals and be ready when your number was called. We work the whole year knowing that there’s going to be a time when we’re going to have injuries or suspensions or international duty where other players are going to be called upon. The players have trained hard, they’ve trained well, and they’ve been ready when their numbers are called.”
New England Revolution midfielder Arnór Traustason
“We can expect a team that is coming here, coming full gas on us. They have a good team. They have decent players. It will be a battle for 90 minutes, and we just have to be more clever in managing the game, opening them up in the right spaces, and yeah, outwork them.”
