After a home draw against D.C. United, the Philadelphia Union is staying at home to face the New England Revolution. The Revolution is currently putting together a strong season, sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference.
We spoke with Jake Catanese and our good friends at The Blazing Musket for a rundown of what Union fans can expect from the Revolution on Saturday.
Philadelphia Soccer Now: New England has put up 24 points thus far this season (for an impressive 2.00 ppg). What’s been going right?
Jake Catanese: When you look at the Revs roster, and more importantly who hasn’t been playing, it’s hard to imagine the Revs a few months ago being at the top of the East while starting Noel Buck in midfield 10 times in 12 games as the Revs have tapped pretty deep into the homegrown well already this year. Buck has been a revelation but Jack Panayotou and Esmir Bajraktarevic have also had some nice contributions as well as New England despite a significant number of injuries find themselves at or near the top of the East.
The potentially terrifying part of the Revs’ early season success…is that they aren’t at full strength. If Bou or Vrioni hit their stride up top and the Revs get back their veterans to bolster the bench and rotation, this team should be able to maintain their status at the top of the East. A road win against a good Philly team that played midweek would really be a statement win for a team that has racked up results against teams that are mostly below the playoff line currently and especially after a meh game in Miami last week.
PSN: From a brief glance at some stats, the Revolution has allowed just 11 goals this season, the second-best in the Eastern Conference. What has the defense looked like?
JC: Dave Romney has quietly been one of the best acquisitions in my opinion in all of MLS this year. Obviously, the Revs struggled with defensive depth last year with injuries but with Andrew Farrell missing time in preseason and now Henry Kessler out long term, Romney has been a tremendous asset in the backline. New England has often operated without a big aerial presence at center back which has led to struggles on set pieces, and while those problems still exist, Romney has been a help there as well.
Then of course we come to the Serbian God of Goalkeeping, Djordje Petrovic who continues to be excellent. He isn’t putting up the gaudy, otherworldly advanced metrics that he did last year but I think is a combination of the Revs’ improved defense and just simply giving up fewer big chances. DeJuan Jones and Brandon Bye are still one of the best fullback pairings in the league and keeping those two on the field could be the key for the Revs because the depth behind them is a severe drop-off. If DeJuan Jones gets any USMNT time this summer and the Revs can survive without him at left back for a spell, this defense should be humming along fine come playoff time.
PSN: On the flip side, where are the Revs lacking?
JC: Just finishing – as always the Revs are a team that has little problem creating chances from anywhere, they just don’t convert their best chances. Gustavo Bou has missed significant time, Jozy Altidore has been working on his fitness for years at this point it seems, and Giacomo Vrioni hasn’t gotten consistent minutes to be the Adam Buksa replacement we hoped he would be. Despite all that, Carles Gil, Vrioni, and Bobby Wood have all scored three times on the season.
But it has fallen to Wood to lead the line as a lone and often pressing forward and…it’s been working. Bobby Wood was oddly a great partner up top for Dylan Borrero who would join as a pseudo-second striker from the wing position and Wood’s runs in the box often opened up tons of space for others. New England might be embracing a more press and counter system than they have in years past given their injury woes and perhaps the narrow diamond will make a comeback this year, but for the most part, New England has been able to grind out results though not always in spectacular or dominating fashion. Obviously, the Revs aren’t putting up ridiculous goal numbers or metrics like they did as Shield winners in 2021, but they are third in the East in scoring. If they can notch some wins against playoff-caliber teams, and turn those home draws into wins in particular, they will easily solidify their spot at the top of the East for the year.
PSN: As always, will New England have any notable absences? What are your lineup and score predictions?
JC: So Borrero is done for the year and then the Revs have a plethora of seemingly long-term injuries. Midfielders Tommy McNamara and Nacho Gil have yet to play this year and Maciel is recovering still from last year’s Achilles injury, Henry Kessler is out for a few months, Gustavo Bou has been week-to-week with a leg issue and we haven’t gotten much from Bruce or the team on this front. Still, the Revs have been plugging away and I think getting three points in Philly would be one of their best results of the year.
4-4-2 Diamond: Petrovic; Jones, Romney, Farrell, Bye; Polster, Buck, Blessing, Gil; Wood, Vrioni
Let’s bring back the diamond for fun, the Revs haven’t played a lot this year with two strikers partly due to injuries. If they get a lead having Justin Rennicks be a menace as a lone pressing forward to close things out certainly can work or a late switch to a 4-2-3-1. Give me a 2-1 win for the Revs with Wood and Gil on target.
