LOS ANGELES – Ten days after handing New York City FC their first home loss of the season the New England Revolution will now look to crash the party at Banc of California Stadium, where they’ll meet expansion side Los Angeles FC for the first time on Saturday night.
The Revs (8-10-9, 33 pts.) enter the weekend perched in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, but just three points back of the final playoff spot and with a game in hand on the sixth-place Montreal Impact. LAFC (13-7-7, 46 pts.), meanwhile, are third in the West, just three points off the conference lead.
Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night with Brad Feldman and Paul Mariner handling the call on NBC Sports Boston and 98.5 The Sports Hub. Portuguese radio listeners can tune into 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.
Revolution Postgame Live will begin immediately after the final whistle on NBC Sports Boston, while Matt McCarthy and former Revolution midfielder Clyde Simms will take calls for 30 minutes postgame on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Current Form: Win over NYCFC gets Revs back in the mix; LAFC climbing in the West
Brian Wright’s first MLS goal in his first MLS start earned the Revs a slump-busting 1-0 win over NYCFC last week at Yankee Stadium, boosting New England’s confidence and offering fresh belief at a critical juncture of the season.
HIGHLIGHTS: Wright’s opportunistic goal enough for Revs to take down NYCFC
But the importance of that win can only be measured by how much momentum the Revs can build from it, as they’ll need to keep driving forward through the final seven games of the regular season as they aim to make up ground in the East and claim a first playoff berth since 2015.
“We’ve just got to keep going,” said center back Michael Mancienne, who was immense against NYCFC as the Revs kept their first clean sheet since early July. “If we can beat a team that hadn’t lost at home all season, we can beat anyone.
“We’ve just got to keep the positivity going, keep the same drive, keep that same energy we had in that game, and keep going, because we need to get as many points as possible now.”
LAFC are also coming off an important road win, having taken down defending champion Toronto FC in a 4-2 thriller two weeks ago at BMO Field. The victory stretched LAFC’s unbeaten run to four games (3-0-1) and pushed the expansion side closer to the top of the Western Conference.
Most notably Bob Bradley’s side have lost just once at home all season, but the Revs are confident that they can exploit some spaces on the counterattack, particularly in the late stages. Approximately half of LAFC’s goals against have been conceded on the counter, and 64 percent of their goals against have been in the second half.
“I think it’s important going away from home that we stay in the game as long as possible,” said head coach Brad Friedel. “It’d be great if we get a goal or two in front and also be very confident on the ball.
“It’s a team that has some weapons going forward, but it’s a team that can definitely be hurt defensively. We’re going to have to be very aggressive, very resolute, brave on the ball, and hopefully we’re first to all the second balls. I think we can have a very good night.”
Past Meetings: Revs and expansion side LAFC set to clash for the first time
Saturday night’s clash at Banc of California Stadium will be the first-ever between the Revs and LAFC, who entered the fray as Major League Soccer’s 23rd club this season.
There are several connections between the two clubs, however, as a pair of former Revolution players currently ply their trade in LAFC’s midfield: Lee Nguyen and Benny Feilhaber.
Nguyen ranks second all-time in both goals (51) and assists (49) with the Revolution, having spent six seasons in New England after arriving in 2012. The veteran playmaker was traded to LAFC in May, with the Revs receiving up to $950,000 of allocation money in return.
Feilhaber spent two seasons in Foxborough (2011-12), registering five goals and nine assists before moving on to Sporting Kansas City prior to the season 2013 season.
“It’s going to be good playing against Lee, seeing a familiar face,” said Andrew Farrell, who was Nguyen’s teammate in New England from 2013 to 2018. “But obviously it’s all business. Hopefully (we) get three points.”
Injury Report: Bunbury hopeful ahead of the weekend; Caicedo back from suspension
After appearing in 43 consecutive league games between June 2017 and August 2018, Teal Bunbury has missed two of the Revs’ last three matches with a nagging hamstring injury.
There is hope, however, that Bunbury could be back in the mix for Saturday night’s visit to LAFC as the Revs hope to get their leading goal scorer back into the mix.
READ: Bunbury “progressing nicely” as he recovers from lingering hamstring injury
While the Revs continue to monitor Bunbury’s progression, they know they’ll regain the services of at least one key player on Saturday night as central midfielder Luis Caicedo is eligible to return after serving a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation.
Final Thoughts: Mancienne says win in NYC gave Revs “a new lease on life”
“Everyone’s gotten a new lease on life,” said Mancienne. “Everyone seems in good spirits. There’s good energy around the camp, which is really, really good. I think everyone is looking forward to the next game. We need to, because now everyone is positive and not thinking, ‘We need to break this losing streak.’ Now we’re thinking, ‘We want to carry on this winning streak,’ which is really good.”
