A Rivalry Dating back to the 13 Colonies- The New England Revolution take on the Philadelphia Union.
In a patriotic clash the Philadelphia Union travel to Foxborough, Massachusetts to battle the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium Saturday, May 18th at 7:30pm ET. The last time these two clubs met was in the playoffs of last year. The Revolution bested the Union in the final game of the 2023 regular season in a 2-1 home win. With hopes for a strong playoff run, the Revs immediately faced the Union again in the first round, dropping a 3-1 and 1-0 loss to ultimately end the Revolution’s season. The Revolution will look to avenge those playoff losses Saturday against a Philadelphia Union team who has been in historically bad form as of late.
Here is the matchup history credit to FBRef:
Let’s talk more about the Union’s recent form. This is the teams third game in eight days. Most recently, they are coming off their fourth home loss in a row after losing 2-1 on Wednesday night against NYCFC. This is the first time in club history they have lost 4 home games in a row. Interestingly, the Union remain unbeaten on the road in the 2024 regular season with a record of 2 Wins and 4 ties. Compared to a home record of 1-4-1. Despite their poor form, the Union have had a bit of success on the road this year.
Last 5 results for the Union:
The Union haven’t won a game sine April 6 in a 2-1 win against Nashville. A Nashville team who just fired their coach Gary Smith and are struggling. The Union typically play in a 4-1-2-1-2 formation. They have been shuffling their lineup a bit, trying to find the right player combinations that work. The Union come into this game with double the number of goals on the season New England does. Their form lately though has not been inspiring, compared to a Revs team that is gaining confidence.
This is a Union team that has a lot of pride in the club and their coach. Their home fans boo’d them going into halftime last game down 2-0. They responded by scoring two minutes into the second half. The showed fight until the final whistle despite the loss. The Revolution have to be prepared for a Union team that is ready to fight for their reputation.
Here's a lineup we could see from the Union Saturday. This was their starting 11 from the Wednesday match against NYCFC. With the short turnaround, maybe we will see some slight changes in personnel. Having their starting keeper Andre Blake (https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/players/andre-blake/) out with injury since April 30th has greatly affected this team.
Here are the key players to watch from the Philadelphia Union:
Jack McGlynn, Left Midfield, #16
Great left foot
Talented young player, only 20 years old, with interest from Europe.
Here is an example of what he can do with his left foot.
Leads team in "Progressive Passes" with 91, next best has 49. Speaks to his ability to control the pace of the game in the midfield.
Quinn Sullivan, Right Midfield, #33
Another talented young player, 20 years old, who came up through the Union system.
Athletic and fast on the wing helping create offensive chances.
Has the most minutes on the Union this season.
Leads team in assists with 4.
Leads team with progressive passes received, 85, with next best 52. Combine that with the Jack McGlynn stat above and you see who this team is moving the ball through in the midfield.
Daniel Gazdag, Center Attacking Midfield, #10
Unions all time leading goal scorer.
Named to Hungary roster for UEFA Euro 2024
Leads Union with 7 goals this season.
Bonus players:
Julian Carranza, Striker, #9
Goal scorer. 4 on the season.
Alejandro Bedoya, Center Midfield, #11
Great player, but aging (37 years old)
Likely will sub in off the bench. Bring a late spark to the offense.
Here is the New England Revolution Recent form:
The Revs come into this weekend better rested than most teams. They are one of three clubs who had Matchday 14 off with no game this past Wednesday. Caleb Porter has positive things to say about the team despite their 4-2 loss to the New York Red Bulls in their previous match. Porter remarked that despite the loss the team actually played better than their previous game against Chicago which resulted in a win. Besides a few critical mistakes in the defense which are not acceptable, we played a good game against the Red Bulls. We continue to progress as a possession team. As we look to get players like Brandon Bye and Dejuan Jones back from injury, we can start to see this team’s identity start to come together. With some strong outside backs getting back into the fold we can expect more success from Caleb Porter’s described style of play, looking to get outside backs forward and allow wingers to move central and create numbers in front of the other team’s net.
Here are the key players for New England to get secure a win Saturday night. As a note, Tomas Chancalay will miss this weekend’s game due to suspension from yellow card accumulation.
1. The Defense.
a. This isn’t a person but the defense has been our biggest issue. Embarrassing moments, caught absolutely off guard at times. Looking silly in transition and in our own box. A few mental errors on defense have been the difference for us.
b. Similarly to the Red Bulls, Philly like to press. They are good on set pieces. They are good defensively. They don’t give up many goals. So our defense needs to do the same.
a. It’s been a tough year for Vrioni. However, coach Caleb Porter has been nothing but positive after the last few games speaking about his striker. With a goal against the Red Bulls last weekend, let’s see if Vrioni can continue to build on that form.
b. Vrioni’s struggles may not be completely his fault. Coach Caleb Porter after last match and even commentators during last match commented on New England’s missed chances to feed their striker. New England would benefit from looking to feed Vrioni and get their striker some touches, shots, and hopefully result in some goals.
a. For better or worse, Mark Anthony Kaye is logging a lot of minutes, covering a lot of the field, and getting a lot of touches.
b. He’s a solid and reliable player in his role, I just really hope to see him look to make more forward passes, and less back to Arreaga and Kessler. As noted in the last blog, we have had a lot of passing and possession that leads not nothing.
A few bonus players!
Our top scorer this season with 4 goals. Just hit 100 goals contributions as a Rev last game. Caleb Porter commented how “Carles never has bad games,” but he’s coming into form lately. Let’s see that continue with more goal contributions this weekend!
In the same vein of Kaye. Polster does a lot of dirty work in the Central Defensive Midfield area. Coach Caleb Porter commented how he does a lot of good things for the team that don’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet.
Expecting him to be in the starting 11, this will be his 100th start as a member of the Revolution.
As a note, Polster is one yellow card away from being suspended for a match for yellow card accumulation (so is Ian Harkes).
My prediction for this game is a 3-1 win for the Revolution and the best game from them this 2024 regular season. I want to see goal contributions from Vrioni, Gil, and Esmir. Whether it’s goals or assists, these are the guys who will be creating offense. I expect to see Boateng on the pitch at some point or potentially starting with Chancalay out. He’s a guy who can get assists off crosses, including one in the last match late against the Red Bulls. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw another connection from Boateng to Vrioni on Saturday night. If the Union are going to score, I’d love to see a Jack McGlynn lefty snipe. However, I think it’ll be more likely a scrappy Carranza or Gazdag goal. The Revolution have been looking better and better each week, and the Union have been struggling. I believe this can be a defining win for the Revolution that can help propel them on a run as they head into a home stretch with 4 of 5 games at home.
God Bless. Go Revs.
