Preview: Philadelphia Union vs. New England Revolution - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides coming off comprehensive defeats in MLS last weekend will hope to bounce back on Friday when the Philadelphia Union welcome the New England Revolution to Subaru Park.

After taking an early lead, Philly conceded three unanswered goals to lose 3-1 to DC United last weekend, while the Revs saw their nine-game unbeaten run snapped, falling 2-0 to New York City FC.

Match preview

© Reuters

They got the start that they wanted for once, but a Steve Birnbaum own goal on 22 minutes was about as good as it would get for Jim Curtin and the Union last Saturday.

It was rare to see the Union get dominated in that fashion, especially against DC, who they had gone unbeaten against in their 10 previous matches before then, winning nine of those encounters with a goal differential of +19.

Even though they are safely positioned in fifth in the Eastern Conference, it is fair to say that this season has not gone as well as this team had hoped it would, following their Supporters' Shield triumph in 2020.

It seems like every other game, they are having to fight their way back from an early deficit, conceding the opening goal in four matches in all competitions last month, after only drawing first blood once in the entire month of July.

A year ago, they scored the second-most goals in MLS in the regular season (44), but so far in 2021, they are not finding the same kind of consistency in attack, scoring multiple goals on only six occasions in MLS play.

While they have not scored as many times as many of us expected, they are doing an excellent job at keeping the ball out of their own goal at home, maintaining five clean sheets at Subaru Park this year and allowing only six goals total.

© Reuters

An unbeaten run that lasted over a month and a half finally came to an end for New England last Saturday as they suffered their first defeat since July 7.

If you are going to beat the Revs, you had better not give them any momentum because they will pounce the moment you allow them back into a game.

As proof of this, two of their four defeats this year have come when they have failed to get on the scoreboard, and they have rarely been able to fight their way back from a losing position.

Since the season began, almost everything has gone right for Bruce Arena and his team, so it is perhaps not a major surprise that this side would suffer a let-down at some point.

The Revolution were only able to test Pigeons goalkeeper Sean Johnson once last weekend, firing one shot on target, their lowest tally of the season.

Even with that defeat, they are still in the enviable position of leading the Eastern Conference with a 14-point cushion on Orlando City and Nashville SC and with many regulars away on international duty, it will allow Arena to give some other players a chance to show what they can do.

Team News

© Reuters

We will see a very different Philly lineup this weekend with several players being called up to their national team for the next qualifying matches for World Cup 2022, including Andre Blake, Cory Burke and Alvas Powell, all of whom are with Jamaica, Daniel Gazdag will be representing Hungary, Jose Martinez is in San Cristobal as his Venezuelan side host Argentina, Jamiro Monteiro is with the Cape Verde team, who are looking to make it out of the African region, and Olivier Mbaizo will be in Cameroon as his national side play host to Malawi.

Homegrown midfielder Jack de Vries, who has missed most of the year with a concussion, has been loaned to Italian side Venezia in Serie A, Jack Elliott will be suspended after receiving a yellow card versus the Black-and-Red, Ilsinho and Sergio Santos are both questionable with hamstring injuries.

Kacper Przybylko has not scored a goal since July 25, while Quinn Sullivan scored the only goal in their last home fixture against CF Montreal, his second of the season and striker Matheus Davo is still seeking his first appearance for his temporary club after being loaned to the Union from Brazilian side Corinthians.

The Revs will be missing starting keeper Matt Turner who is with the US for their match against El Salvador, Tajon Buchanan is in Toronto as the Canadians open up the next round of qualifying against Honduras and their second-leading goalscorer Adam Buksa has been called up to the Polish national team, who are hosting Albania on Thursday.

Carles Gil is back training with the Revs, having missed their last six games with a muscular injury, Luis Caicedo is still out with a lower-body issue and Brandon Bye is questionable with an undisclosed injury.

Andrew Farrell is now the all-time leader in regular-season appearances for the Revs, earning his 262nd cap on Saturday, surpassing Shalrie Joseph and Diego Fagundez, while Matt Polster returned from a knee injury and Edward Kizza made his first appearance for the senior side since July 7, having scored four goals in seven games this season for Revolution II.

Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:

Freese; Wagner, Findlay, Glesnes, Collin; Flach, McGlynn, Sullivan, Fontana; Monteiro, Przybylko

New England Revolution possible starting lineup:

Knighton; DeLaGarza, Kessler, Farrell, Bye; Boateng, McNamara, Gil, Maciel; Bou, Kizza

We say: Philadelphia Union 1-1 New England Revolution

With both teams missing several key components because of international duty, it will be an opportunity for other players to shine, so expect a spirited affair from both teams, with numerous players out to prove to their coach that they deserve more playing time.