With all 27 clubs passing the midway point of the 2021 MLS season, the standings are starting to take shape. And as expected at this juncture, the playoff races in both conferences are bunched.
Well, except for one place.
The New England Revolution are outpacing the rest of the Eastern Conference by a 12-point margin heading into Week 20, with second-place New York City FC looking to stay within striking distance. The Cityzens have filtered up the standings in recent weeks, with their six-game unbeaten run (four wins, two draws) perhaps overshadowed by New England thriving ahead of them.
Still, with two games in hand and nearly half the 34-game schedule left, there may yet be some intrigue atop the East as NYCFC hope to mount a challenge.
“New England have been unbelievably good, they hardly lose," NYCFC head coach Ronny Deila told media on a virtual press conference. "They have a big gap to the others. It’s still the halfway point – there’s so many games left, we have to keep on going. I’d love to be under the radar until the last game then win at the end. That’d be the best thing, so I don’t think too much about if we’re under the radar or not.
"I think we have respect," Deila continued. "We’re a good football team but we have to keep improving, we have a lot to work on still. The other teams are getting better, too. It’s about who improves the most the rest of the season. If you take away New England, [the standings] are very even. There’s a long way to go.”
In that cluster of teams chasing New England and hoping for a dip in form are the Philadelphia Union, NYCFC's opponent Wednesday night at Subaru Park (7:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+). They sit fifth in the East but trail second-place NYCFC by just three points and are the reigning Supporters' Shield champions.
NYCFC beat Philly 2-0 at the beginning of May, but they expect a much different task this time around as they had the benefit of playing 76 minutes up a man after Jose Martinez's 16th-minute red card. NYCFC held 67% possession and outshot Philly 23-4, then only three games into the year.
“We’re working better, we have a different confidence," Deila said of how his team has progressed since. "A lot of things are more positive. Having said that, Philadelphia are a really tough opponent. Last time we played them, they got a red card very early, so that made the game easier for us. That won't happen this time, I don't think. They are one of the top teams.”
Like the rest of the league, both Philly and NYCFC are amid a summer fixture list that's quite congested, with midweek games aplenty, including continental cup competitions. Last week the Union faced Club America in Leg One of the Concacaf Champions League semifinals, while NYCFC played Pumas in the Leagues Cup quarterfinal – in addition to their regular MLS slate.
When this weekend's derby against the New York Red Bulls comes and goes, NYCFC will have contested 10 games in five weeks. Through eight, they've lost just one (plus a loss after penalties in the Leagues Cup.) They're unbeaten in their last six MLS games, with all four wins coming at home.
“It depends what kind of team we are going to need, what kind of style we want to play, which players are tired or fresh. Injuries. There are 100 things that go into [a starting XI]," Deila said. "It’s difficult with the amount of games we have, but we’ve done very well to rotate the team and get results. We don’t have any other options, we’ll keep rotating. How much? We don’t know.”
Expect to see a different lineup but the same old NYCFC.
“I don’t think [rotating is] any problem – we can change how we want to play because we have so many intelligent players," Deila said. "It’s less about systems, it’s about principles. And the players know the principles so well.”
