FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams will visit Gillette Stadium this week, beginning on Wednesday night when the New England Revolution will host top-of-the-table Atlanta United FC in the Revs’ first midweek match of the 2018 season.
Just seven points separate the sixth-place Revs (5-4-3, 18 pts.) from first-place Atlanta (8-3-1, 25 pts.), and New England will have the opportunity to slice that deficit almost in half on Wednesday night in Foxborough.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with NBC Sports Boston televising the match and streaming the action live on their web site and mobile app. Brad Feldman, Paul Mariner and Naoko Funayama will have the call both there and on 98.5 The Sports Hub, while Portuguese radio listeners can tune into 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.
Elizabeth Pehota and Jeff Lemieux will break down the starting lineups and storylines on Revolution Pregame LIVE, streaming on the Revs’ official Facebook page at 7 p.m. ET, while Revolution Postgame Live will begin immediately after the final whistle on NBC Sports Boston.
Current Form: Revs begin hectic stretch with road point; Atlanta well rested
There was a sense of disappointment as the Revolution surrendered leads of 2-0 and 3-2 this past weekend at BC Place, but in the end they secured a valuable road point in a 3-3 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
HIGHLIGHTS: Penilla, Bunbury, Fagundez shine as Revs pick up a point in Vancouver
The Revs have plenty to take away from that performance – both positive and negative – and they’ll need to use it to build momentum as they’ll play five more games in the next 15 days, including three consecutive road games after Saturday’s visit from the New York Red Bulls.
“The game didn’t play out the way that we wanted it to, obviously, being up two goals,” said Chris Tierney. “But one of our main objectives going into the game and throughout the season has been to not lose two games in a row, so we checked that box.
“There were a few good things to take from the game, but overall we’re disappointed giving up a two-goal lead. We’ll look forward.”
While the Revs were traveling cross-country this past weekend Atlanta were resting at home, as they haven’t played since a 3-1 loss to the Red Bulls on May 20. Two of the Five Stripes’ three losses on the season have come in their last three games – both setbacks coming at home – but their 4-1-0 road record is tops in MLS.
Atlanta’s attacking trio of Miguel Almiron, Josef Martinez and newcomer Ezequiel Barco garner much of the attention as Tata Martino’s side has scored more goals than any team in MLS the past two years, but there’s more to Wednesday night’s opponent than a torrid attack.
“They have good players all over the field and a very good philosophy of how they play, but we have good players all over the field and we have a philosophy of how to play,” said Revs head coach Brad Friedel. “I say this most times we go into a game – I think it’s going to be another entertaining game.
“You’re going to have two teams that are going to want to try to score goals and two teams that have good attacks.”
Past Meetings: Revs still in search of first win – and goal – against Atlanta
There’s very little history between the Revs and Atlanta, who’ve met just twice since the Five Stripes joined MLS as an expansion side last season. The first meeting was one to forget for the Revs, who suffered a 7-0 loss at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after two first-half red cards (both via video review) killed the game, but they did respond with a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium just two weeks later.
This is the first of two regular-season meetings between the sides this season, as the Revs will head to Atlanta for a nationally-televised encounter on October 6.
Injury Report: Agudelo “fairly close,” while Delamea should be back in the mix
With six games in a 19-day span the Revolution need as many healthy bodies as possible, and there’s good news on that front with regards to Juan Agudelo, Antonio Delamea and Mark Segbers.
Agudelo, who has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, is inching closer to a return. The 25-year-old striker has a history of hamstring issues so the athletic training staff has taken care to strengthen the muscle during his recovery, but Agudelo is expected to be back in the mix at some point this week.
“[The recovery] has been going very well,” Agudelo said on Monday. “I’m just trying to get the fitness part back, the ballwork and footwork back. But I would say I’m fairly close.”
Antonio Delamea, who traveled to Vancouver but didn’t feature in the match-day squad while dealing with an illness, was a full participant in training on Monday and Tuesday and should be available against Atlanta.
Ninth overall SuperDraft pick Mark Segbers, meanwhile, has returned from his loan with Orange County (USL) and could feature in the coming weeks, particularly as the Revs head to Louisville, Kentucky next week to kick off their U.S. Open Cup campaign.
Friedel said the Revs will assess Segbers’ performance during this stretch before making a decision whether to keep him with the first team or have him return on loan to Orange County.
“It’ll be very good to see how Mark’s been coping,” said Friedel. “He’s been playing for the first time against pros in competitive games, and I’m sure it will have done him no harm.”
Zach Herivaux, currently with the Haiti National Team to face Argentina in their FIFA World Cup sendoff match in Buenos Aires, will miss Wednesday night’s game, but should be back in the mix ahead of the New York Red Bulls’ visit to Gillette Stadium this weekend.
Atlanta, meanwhile, will be missing some key pieces along the backline on Wednesday night as both Greg Garza and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez are suspended.
Final Thoughts: Caldwell says Revs will “be ready to start strong” on Wednesday
“The start’s always essential; I think we’ve shown that in our latest games,” said Scott Caldwell. “I don’t think the rest will affect us any more than a normal game. Sometimes coming off a long rest (like Atlanta), you’re slow to get going. I think it’s different for every team and I think we’re just going to prepare the best we can and be ready to start strong.”
