The New England Revolution will look to extend their unbeaten run to nine games when they host FC Cincinnati on Saturday from Gillette Stadium.
A second-half flurry helped New England come from behind to beat DC United 3-2 on Wednesday, while the Orange and Blue drew for the fourth successive time, 0-0 with CF Montreal.
Match preview
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Everything is coming up roses at the moment for Bruce Arena and the New England Revolution, who are currently riding a three-game winning streak and are seven points clear of their nearest challenger (the Seattle Sounders) in the race for the Supporters' Shield.
The half time team talk versus the Black-and-Red seemed to have a significant impact, as New England scored three second-half goals to erase a 1-0 deficit and hang on after being reduced to 10 men.
Five of their last six games were decided by a single goal, with the side from Greater Boston coming out on top each time, with four of their previous five strikes coming in the second half.
The Revs have standout performers at every position who could win individual awards when the season is over, but they are also an incredibly well-balanced team, as 11 different players have at least one goal on the year, and 10 members of the team have at least one assist.
In the first dozen games this year, they seemed to rely heavily on midfielder Carles Gil to create most of their scoring opportunities, but they are proving that they can get it done without him, going unbeaten in their four fixtures since his injury and scoring seven goals.
With a 14-point cushion atop the Eastern Conference table, their biggest obstacle at the moment could be ensuring that they remain sharp while not getting too comfortable, seeing as they can afford to have a couple of let-downs that will not greatly impact their standing.
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Cincinnati have competed hard over the past four games, but they cannot seem to earn three points no matter who they play.
Earning points is always important, but the Orange-and-Blue are not doing enough to move up the table, currently sitting in 12th, two points above Toronto in last and 10 points back of Montreal for the final playoff spot.
The problem for Jaap Stam is the same one that his side encountered all of last year, a failure to score goals, as they have been shut out in four of their previous five fixtures, and they are the second-lowest scoring team in MLS at the moment with 18 goals.
They are creating opportunities but are struggling to finish them off, although they were unlucky on Wednesday as they struck the woodwork twice in their draw with Montreal.
If this team can earn a win or a draw this weekend, it would set a new record for the longest unbeaten run in franchise history, though another single point will not do them a lot of good.
As a former central defender, Stam has to be pleased with how well his team have defended over their last four games, conceding only one goal and not allowing a single shot on target on Wednesday, but he knows that they need to start earning three points and fast if they want to be in the playoff conversation.
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Team News
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Revs defender Andrew Farrell became the franchise leader in minutes played (22,932), surpassing Shalrie Joseph, while AJ DeLaGarza notched his first assist for New England in their victory on Wednesday and the ninth of his career.
Luis Caicedo still has a lower-body injury, Carles Gil has a muscular problem and Arnor Traustason is suspended following his ejection late in their victory against the Black-and-Red.
DeJuan Jones scored the game winner on Wednesday, his second of the campaign as his six combined goals and assists are tied for the second-most among MLS defenders this year, and Matt Turner made seven saves in goal for his 10th victory of the season, a career-high.
Cincinnati are still missing Calvin Harris with a meniscus problem, Maikel van der Werff is out with a sports hernia, Zico Bailey is suffering from a hip injury and Allan Cruz will miss the next match because of yellow card accumulation.
Przemyslaw Tyton made his 30th career MLS start in midweek, collecting a clean sheet in relief of Kenneth Vermeer, but he did not have to make a single save to earn the shutout.
Luciano Acosta made his 125th career MLS start earlier this week, while Tyler Blackett has yet to debut for his new club, singing with Cincy during the Secondary Transfer Window from Nottingham Forest.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Turner; Mafla, Farrell, Kessler, Jones; Caldwell, Kaptoum, McNamara, Buchanan; Bou, Buksa
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Vermeer; Hagglund, Cameron, Vallecilla, Castillo; Ordonez, Kubo, Barreal; Acosta, Stanko; Brenner
We say: New England Revolution 3-1 FC Cincinnati
The Revs are starting to run away with the Eastern Conference title in the regular season, and they are scoring with ease at the moment with seven goals in their last three games.
Cincinnati have done a great job defending, but they have not had to deal with the kind of firepower New England possesses, and they cannot seem to buy a goal.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a New England Revolution win with a probability of 69.35%. A draw had a probability of 18.1% and a win for FC Cincinnati had a probability of 12.51%.
The most likely scoreline for a New England Revolution win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.48%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (10.18%) and 2-1 (9.67%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.58%), while for a FC Cincinnati win it was 0-1 (3.8%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 4.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that New England Revolution would win this match.
