After a rough outing in Vancouver last weekend, CF Montreal will wrap up their two-game road trip with a showdown at Gillette Stadium on Saturday versus the New England Revolution.
The Revs are a point out of first in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer following a 1-1 draw at home to New York City FC, while Montreal are dead-last after being hammered 5-0 by the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Match preview
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Having a few months to prepare and refocus ahead of 2023 seems to have done the Revs a world of good as they find themselves near the top of the table through six matches.
They added numerous players to the roster in 2022 after some key departures, and although it has taken a while, they seem to be building some solid chemistry with those new, young faces.
One of the many things that Bruce Arena has seen his side excel at so far this year is in their physicality and ability to disrupt their opponent's rhythm when out of possession, and it does not hurt to have one of the top playmakers in MLS at their disposal.
New England have yet to lose at Gillette Stadium in 2023, conceding just once in three matches, while they are unbeaten in four games against Eastern Conference opponents this season.
They have not lost a regular season encounter this season when scoring first, conceding only once in that scenario to this point of the campaign.
The Revolution have captured three of their last four meetings at Foxborough versus Montreal, though they were beaten 1-0 the last time out in 2022.
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A tumultuous beginning to his career as manager of Montreal hit a new low for Hernan Losada last weekend as Le CFM suffered their worst regular season defeat since losing 7-1 at Sporting Kansas City in March 2019.
It must have felt like a sick April Fool's joke for this team to lose in that manner, but their form away from home this season has been no laughing matter, with Montreal losing all four of their road games this year by a combined score of 10-0.
That is a sharp contrast from what we saw from them in 2022, when they captured a league-high 11 wins in the regular season, though they failed to win their first three encounters last year.
Although the season is still young, there are plenty of trouble spots up and down this roster as these players are struggling to adapt to a more aggressive, vertical approach.
It has not helped that they have rarely done much when in possession, while they have not looked nearly as creative on the ball since Djordje Mihailovic departed for AK Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie.
They have not lost five straight road fixtures in the regular season since dropping their final eight matches of the 2019 campaign.
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Team News
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Latif Blessing missed the previous match for the Revs with a right knee sprain, Jacob Jackson is nursing a left ACL strain, Maciel has a sore left Achilles, Tommy McNamara could miss this one due to a problem in his left leg and Nacho Gil might be out because of a right leg injury.
The 2021 MLS MVP, Carles Gil, had the only New England goal versus New York, his first of the campaign, finishing the game with five shots, one more than Gustavo Bou, who leads the team with a pair of goals, while Djordje Petrovic conceded at home for the first time all year.
Jack Panayotou featured at home for the first time in his Revolution career, Noel Buck collected his 13th cap and celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday, while Bobby Wood made his 25th career start in MLS last weekend.
Montreal will be missing Rudy Camacho for this match following his red card in the early stages of their fixture against the Caps, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint has a problem in his right leg, Lassi Lappalainen sat out a week ago because of an issue with his left leg, Jojea Kwizera has a hamstring strain, James Pantemis remains out with a shoulder injury, Matko Miljevic is recovering from a knee injury and George Campbell will be sidelined due to an ankle sprain.
Chinonso Offor started for the first time in a CF Montreal uniform last Saturday, Mathieu Choiniere tied a club record for caps by a home-grown player (79), while captain Samuel Piette can surpass Ignacio Piatti for the most starts in the history of this franchise, featuring in the opening lineup for the 130th time a week ago.
Le CFM have only found the back of the net in one game all season, when Romell Quioto notched a brace, with Offor scoring as well in a 3-2 win at home versus the Philadelphia Union.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Bye, Kessler, Romney, Jones; Makoun, Boateng, Buck; C. Gil; Bou, Borrero
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Waterman, Corbo, Miller; Herrera, Piette, Wanyama, Brault-Guillard; Toye, Quioto, Offor
We say: New England Revolution 2-0 CF Montreal
A loss like the one they suffered in Vancouver cannot be good for the psyche of this Montreal team, who look dumbfounded away from home, while adjusting to the Losada style of play does not appear to be working.
The Revs have been a force for most of the campaign, and we believe their mixture of youth and experience in the middle of the field will do some damage against a Montreal team that look like a wounded animal right now.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
