The last two Supporters' Shield winners in Major League Soccer will go toe-to-toe on Saturday in a battle of undefeated sides as Los Angeles FC host the New England Revolution at BMO Stadium.
Both teams have a 100% record to this point of the regular season, with the Revs blanking the Houston Dynamo 3-0 a week ago, while the reigning MLS Cup champions hung onto a narrow 3-2 victory over the Portland Timbers in their opening domestic encounter.
Match preview
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Despite some anxious moments in last Saturday's second half, LAFC ultimately got the job done, becoming the first reigning champion to win their opening regular season fixture since the Seattle Sounders in 2020.
In the process they extended their unbeaten run at home in MLS to four matches, including the three games they played in Los Angeles during the 2022 playoffs.
For the opening hour of their match against the Timbers, the Black and Gold looked focused and in control, two things which often take time to re-acquire a season after becoming champions.
Playing aggressively higher up the field proved to be a practical and successful approach for Steve Cherundolo and his side in their first match of the new campaign, as LAFC were dangerous down the flanks and in transition.
In his second year as manager of Los Angeles, Cherundolo has preached the importance of defensive solidity with incisive counter-attacking, and that, among other things, propelled them to a first career MLS Cup in 2022.
Saturday will only be the third time they face New England in a regular season encounter, with LA capturing the previous game between the two in 2019 (2-0), while drawing them 1-1 in their only meeting in Los Angeles in 2018.
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A year after missing the postseason, the Revolution are off to a great start in 2023, winning their opening two matches for the first time in club history.
Their victory over the Dynamo marks the first time in which the Revs have posted consecutive clean sheets in its first two matches of a campaign, while it was also the 50th career regular-season victory for Bruce Arena as Revs manager.
Another triumph and shutout this weekend would mark the first time in Revs history that they begin an MLS campaign without conceding a goal in their opening three fixtures.
You have to go back to June 2019 for the last time they defeated a team from Los Angeles in this competition, when New England edged the Galaxy 2-1.
So far in 2023, the Revolution have done an excellent job at stretching the field, often getting the ball out wide, and it helps to have one of the top playmakers in the league with those decisive through balls that can unlock opposing defences.
It took the Revs until the 13th match of the 2022 regular season to win a road game, so to see them capture their opening fixture (1-0) in front of over 69,000 Charlotte FC fans has to be a massive boost of confidence to a side that won a mere three away matches last year.
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Team News
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Stipe Biuk, Aaron Long and Timothy Tillman all made their debuts with LAFC in the second half of their match against the Timbers, while the 2022 MLS Cup MVP John McCarthy started his first-ever home game for the Black and Gold as Maxime Crepeau continues to recover from a severe leg injury sustained in the cup final versus the Philadelphia Union.
Giorgio Chiellini scored his first-ever goal with LA, becoming the fifth-oldest player in league history to find the back of the net at 38 years and 202 days, Carlos Vela netted his first of the campaign and Kwadwo Opoku notched the winner, his 10th for the club in all competitions.
Denis Bouanga scored a hat trick for LA on Thursday as they began their CONCACAF Champions League campaign in convincing fashion, defeating L.D. Alajuelense in Costa Rica 3-0 with Ryan Hollingshead setting up two goals.
Jack Panayotou missed the previous Revs match with an illness, Jacob Jackson has a left ACL sprain, Maciel is out due to a sore left Achilles, Tommy McNamara continues to recover from a left leg issue, while Nacho Gil and Andrew Farrell are expected to sit out due to right leg injuries.
Dylan Borrero, Bobby Wood and Brandon Bye each registered their first goal-and-assist performances in MLS last weekend, with Wood netting for the first time as a member of New England, while Djordje Petrovic now has nine clean sheets in only 23 appearances for the club from Greater Boston.
The 2021 MLS MVP Carles Gil has five key passes in the first two encounters of the season, while Wood and former LAFC midfielder Latif Blessing each featured in the New England starting 11 for the first time.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Hollingshead, Murillo, Long, Palacios; Tillman, Sanchez, Cifuentes; Bouanga, Vela, Torres
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Bye, Kessler, Romney, Jones; Polster; Rivera, C. Gil, Blessing, Borrero; Vrioni
We say: Los Angeles FC 1-2 New England Revolution
The Revs look fresh and determined to put last season behind them, and we believe the vision of Carles Gil and the solid goalkeeping of Petrovic will enable them to take advantage of an LAFC side who may be a little fatigued having played in Costa Rica just a couple of days ago.
How to watch
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Joel Lefevre
