New England Revolution vs. Atlanta United | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

New England Revolution vs. Atlanta United
2018 MLS Regular Season – Week 14
Gillette Stadium — Foxborough
May 30 - 7:30 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

After squandering a pair of leads to settle for a 3-3 road draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the New England Revolution return to the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium for a midweek tilt with a rested Atlanta United squad that had a bye in Week 13 following a 3-1 home loss to the New York Red Bulls.

This will be the third-ever meeting between the two sides, and the second played in New England. The first game at Gillette Stadium ended 0-0 late last September, per Opta.

New England Revolution

Brad Friedel made three changes to his squad — all in the midfield — that lost to Columbus Crew SC, 1-0, the previous week, with Gabriel Somi replacing Chris Tierney, Wilfried Zahibo coming in for Kelyn Rowe and Diego Fagundez returning from suspension in place of Scott Caldwell.

Cristian Penilla got New England (5-4-3) off to a fast start at BC Place Saturday, forcing Aly Ghazal into an own goal with a dangerous ball into the box and following with his fifth goal two minutes into the second half to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

Cristian Techera leveled for Vancouver with a pair of goals in a two-minute span before Teal Bunbury struck for his sixth goal of the season to put the Revs back in front in the 59th minute. But Techera completed the hat trick in the 74th minute and Friedel was left to lament “two points lost.”

“I think, and feel, being up two goals and with the way the game was going, we dropped two points,” Friedel said after the game. “I do like that the team always shows a lot of character and we came back to go ahead again. Then to hold on to get at least a point and salvage something from the game is a testament to the players, however I think we should do better to close the game out.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: D - Claude Dielna, M - Luis Caicedo
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: M - Isaac Angking (illness); QUESTIONABLE: F - Juan Agudelo (hamstring injury)

Projected Starting XI
(3-4-1-2, right to left)
GK: Matt Turner — Andrew Farrell, Jalil Anibaba, Claude Dielna — Brandon Bye, Luis Caicedo, Wilfried Zahibo, Gabriel Somi — Diego Fagundez — Teal Bunbury, Cristian Penilla

Notes: Penilla has nine goals and assists this season for the Revolution. Only three players had more than nine goals and assists last season for New England. … The Revolution have won just one of their last four games (2L-1D). They have conceded an average of 2.5 goals per game over that span.

Atlanta United

"Tata" Martino made just one change from the side that defeated Orlando City SC, 2-1, the previous week as Brad Guzan returned from suspension in place of Alec Kann.

In a wild game between league powerhouses, Ezequiel Barco put Atlanta (8-3-1) in front in the 26th minute and Josef Martinez had a goal called back for a foul following Video Review. From there, it was the Bradley Wright-Phillips show as the Red Bulls forward set up a Daniel Royer penalty kick and then netted a brace in a four-minute span to lead New York to a 3-1 victory.

The Five Stripes ended the match with 10 men after Greg Garza was sent off for a serious foul in the 71st minute. It came six minutes after Leandro Gonzalez Pirez was booked for unsporting behavior, costly because he’ll also be suspended Wednesday on yellow card accumulation.

Suspended: D - Greg Garza, D - Leandro Gonzalez Pirez
Suspended after next caution: D - Chris McCann, M - Jeff Larentowicz, M - Miguel Almiron
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Franco Escobar (abdominal injury), D/M - Chris McCann (left lower extremity injury); QUESTIONABLE: D - Greg Garza (shoulder injury)

Projected Starting XI
(3-4-1-2, right to left)
GK: Brad Guzan — Miles Robinson, Michael Parkhurst, Mikey Ambrose — Julian Gressel, Darlington Nagbe, Jeff Larentowicz, Hector Villalba — Miguel Almiron — Ezequiel Barco, Josef Martinez

Notes: Atlanta have scored 11 goals from set pieces this season, the most in the league. The Revolution have conceded just two set piece goals this season, tied for the second-fewest in the league. … Atlanta have won four straight league road games, allowing a combined two goals in those games. They had won four road games prior to this streak (7L-7D).

All-Time Series

Overall: New England Revolution 0 wins, 0 goals … Atlanta United 1 win, 7 goals … 1 tie
At New England: Revolution 0 wins, 0 goals … Atlanta United 0 wins, 0 goals … 1 tie
Last meeting at New England: New England Revolution 0, Atlanta United 0 (Sept. 30, 2017)