FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – For the second straight weekend two of Major League Soccer’s most productive attacking sides will do battle as the New England Revolution will host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Sporting KC currently lead the league in chances created (112), while the Revs are tied for third (77) in that same category. Meanwhile, SKC (102) and New England (72) are ranked first and second, respectively, in chances created from open play.
It’s likely, then, that both sides will generate plenty of opportunities on Saturday night, as was the case when the Revs visited Columbus Crew SC (2nd in MLS in chance creation) last weekend.
“They send their outside backs forward – maybe not as high as Columbus did – but they leave gaps in the back in that manner, as well, just like Columbus,” Revs head coach Brad Friedel said of Sporting. “When you do that – and we like to do that, as well – you create overloads, which helps you create chances.”
Last weekend at MAPFRE Stadium the Revs traded blows with Crew SC for 90 breathless minutes, both sides scoring a pair of first-half goals before squandering several chances after the break.
While the Revs will hope to be a little tighter at the back on their home field – where they’ve conceded just four goals in four games – there’s an understanding that both sides will likely be pushing the issue in the attacking third, and that could make for another back-and-forth affair.
“They’ve got a lot of really good players,” goalkeeper Matt Turner said of Sporting KC, unbeaten in seven (5-0-2) and currently atop the MLS table. “They can be dangerous up front. They get their fullbacks really high and they create a lot of chances.
“They’ve scored a lot of goals this year, so we’re looking to stay strong defensively, and we’re at home, so we expect to win.”
After a rare home loss to FC Dallas in their last match at Gillette Stadium the Revs found a solid response with last weekend’s draw in Columbus, and now they’ll be looking for a similar reaction in Foxborough, where they’ve won their last three meetings with Sporting KC.
“I don’t think [Sporting KC] change the way they play for many people, nor should they,” said Friedel. “Pete Vermes is another coach who’s done an excellent job over the years with the Sporting Kansas City team.
“They’ve made some new additions this year to their team, so have we, and again, it’s going to be two teams that are going to try to score as many goals as possible and will try to frustrate the opposition. Hopefully we can get back to winning ways at home.”
