Toronto will try to put the past behind them as they play their first match under interim manager Javier Perez on Wednesday against the New England Revolution from Gillette Stadium.
The Revs squandered a 2-0 lead over the weekend, drawing 2-2 with the Columbus Crew, while Toronto suffered a humiliating 7-1 defeat to DC United on Saturday.
Match preview
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A season of relatively smooth sailing for New England has hit a bit of a speed bump in recent weeks, as the Eastern-Conference leaders are winless in their last two encounters after winning five in a row.
Conceding an early goal against Dallas seemed to take them out of their rhythm, as they looked disjointed for much of that game.
Then last weekend, they appeared to be back on track with a two-goal lead after half an hour but could not close the deal as an own-goal from Andrew Farrell with 21 minutes remaining saw them drop two points against Columbus.
Manager Bruce Arena was displeased that his side gave up a two-goal advantage against the Crew, and that is an area that he will want his team to fix, conceding two second-half leads this season which have led to draws, with six of their last eight goals conceded coming in the second half.
However, the Revs got some help from their arch-rivals, the New York Red Bulls, who beat Orlando City SC 2-1, enabling New England to stay atop the Eastern Conference standings with 24 points from their opening 12 games.
The hope is that a return to Gillette Stadium against a team in turmoil in TFC can get the Revs back on the right path, as they have a 100% record at home this season, winning all five of their matches so far.
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The first 11 games for Toronto FC have gone almost as bad as one could imagine, and it all culminated with an embarrassing 7-1 defeat to DC United, their worst loss in franchise history.
That defeat, combined with losing an additional seven matches, were all the TFC front office needed to see before making a change, dismissing manager Chris Armas and replacing him with assistant coach Javier Perez on an interim basis.
There are still plenty of games to be played, but it seems pretty clear that the high-pressing system which Armas employed was too much to ask for a Reds team with several veterans like Michael Bradley and Jonathan Osorio.
They played a different style for many happy and successful years under former manager Greg Vanney, making the MLS Cup final three times, and becoming the first Canadian franchise to win the league in 2017.
When you consider that TFC have the highest MLS payroll, it is perhaps not surprising that the front office made this move when they did.
Toronto have not been able to start or finish games strong all season, conceding 11 goals in the first half-hour of a match while giving up another nine in the final 20 minutes.
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Team News
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The Revs will be missing defensive midfielder Luis Caicedo with a leg injury, while striker Tajon Buchanan will be among the players unavailable for the next little while, as he is representing Canada at the Gold Cup.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner, who is tied with Philadelphia Union keeper Andre Blake for the MLS lead in saves with 41 this season, will be a part of the US national team looking to claim their seventh Gold Cup crown.
Striker Gustavo Bou has been on fire for New England with a goal in four consecutive matches, while winger Tommy McNamara registered his first assist of the season last weekend versus the Crew.
Revs midfielder Carles Gil made his 50th MLS appearance while being named the Player of the Month in the league for June, while striker Teal Bunbury came on as a second-half substitute against Columbus, making his 300th career appearance in MLS.
Toronto centre-back Eriq Zavaleta picked up two cautions in three minutes on Saturday and will be suspended for this match, although he would have been out regardless as he will represent El Salvador at the Gold Cup.
The TFC injured list includes centre-back Julian Dunn who has a hip injury, Ifunanyachi Achara is out with a torn knee ligament, winger Erickson Gallardo is recovering from groin surgery and goalkeeper Quentin Westberg has a finger injury.
Striker Yeferson Soteldo is back from his international duty with Venezuela, and he could be heavily counted upon in attack as the Reds' top two goalscorers, Ayo Akinola and Jonathan Osorio, are with the Canadian national team for the Gold Cup.
Defender Richie Laryea is also a part of the Canadian squad, while fellow defender Kemar Lawrence will be a member of the Jamaican team.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Knighton; Jones, Kessler, Farrell, Bell; Traustason, Polster; McNamara, Gil, Boateng; Bou
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Bono; Mavinga, Gonzalez, Auro; Delgado, Bradley, Okello, Pozuelo; Mullins, Dwyer; Endoh
We say: New England Revolution 2-2 Toronto
New England are the only team in MLS who have won all of their matches on home soil to this point, but they tend to let their opponents back into games as good as they have been this season.
After their 7-1 debacle last week, you can bet the veterans on TFC will be keen to pick up their game, plus they are playing for a new manager, which historically tends to have a good short-term benefit with players eager to impress their new boss.
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 56.38%. A win for Toronto had a probability of 21.91% and a draw had a probability of 21.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a New England Revolution win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.85%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.64%) and 2-0 (8.53%). The likeliest Toronto win was 1-2 (5.76%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.98%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2.2% likelihood.
