Yes, I know that I just used that title a few weeks ago. But we were talking about a team trying to separating themselves from the bottom half of the Eastern Conference whereas today three points could cement the Revs in the top half of the playoff seeds.
But in order to do that New England will have to beat a very potent but out of form Charlotte FC side at Gillette Stadium (730pm, Apple TV) that sits just below them in the standings.
The 4th place Revs are in blistering home form having already won all four games they've played on the new grass. Yes, the battle for second with Miami that ended in a draw while being an overall net positive I think for the Revs did allow the sneaky Chicago Fire to get up to third after they pantsed Sporting KC last weekend 5-0.
Seth Macomber
A quick sort of the East by Points Per Game (PPG) shows a fairly dynamic line right between the Revs and Charlotte. New England, who also has a game in hand, is close to 1.8 PPG currently and another home win would increase the already sizeable gap to the Crown at 1.4 PPG. Then there's the entire midtable or so below that is sitting at or around 1.2 PPG that will eventually sort themselves out and give us a play in game.
Which a month ago New England was right in the middle of that gaggle, and they passed the first separation test to set themselves up for the sequel. Now I do not expect the Revs to catch Nashville at any point this year...nor do I like looking ahead too far at the schedule. But the Revs do play the Coyotes at home in a week and a half and Nashville is going to play three games between then and now including a trip to Mexico against Tigres.
The Revs only match after today before Nashville is a home game against Philly. I am not going to raise expectations anymore than they maybe already have. A win today puts New England in the driver's seat for a home playoff series in November. These are not words I expected to utter in Year 1 of the Mitrovic Era. Four more wins this month and New England won't just be thinking about making the playoffs, they're going to be thinking about winning playoff games. Plural.
Whether or not you think the Revs are passing the last few games with flying colors on the field is for a different day. Results are a pass/fail industry and there's no doubt New England racking up points on their unbeaten run the past month or so have been overwhelmingly earning passing marks on their exams. The Revs have dealt with early substitutions for injuries, several major position switches, and through it all New England has grinded out some very good results with goal contributions across the squad.
Seth Macomber
And for a team that is only going to play one road game (hilariously at Charlotte) between now and the end of July (accounting for the World Cup break), the month of May may very well establish the Revs back among the East's elite. Where they'll keep that status is a road heavy August/September stretch in the second half of the year. What New England has been able to do without Leo Campana, Matt Polster and Brayan Ceballos in the starting lineup at times already this year has been impressive and the depth behind them getting those minutes will serve this team well down the stretch.
Back to matters at hand, Charlotte has been going through it recently. A rash of backline injuries to Tim Ream and King Kess himself have also coincided with the Crown suddenly conceding all of the goals all at once. It might be a coincidence but this is still a very dangerous team with Pep Biel having a great season and Wilfried Zaha possibly returning from injury today.
While Matt Turner has been keeping the Revs goals conceded numbers down, the Revs are giving up a lot of chances. Again, understandable with the injuries and early subs on top of a new coaching group and tactics, but the Revs really do need to improve on limiting their opponents in the final third and should be tested again tonight.
Here to fill us in on all things from the state that shall not be named nor will said state ever recover from Braylon Mullins' 40-footer from March is Brian Maurer of TopBin90. No, I did not ask how many of the TB90 crew are Duke fans, I'm not that cruel, the past few results are more than enough torment and we thank Brian for his insight as always. Make sure to head on over to their site to check out their game coverage.
Josh Nye
TBM: Pep Biel is good at soccer. Talk about the season he's having and could he be in line for some awards or an ASG appearance?
BM: Pep Biel has picked up right where he left off before getting injured last season, averaging nearly a goal contribution per game. If he stays healthy, I would say it's likely a lock he makes the ASG, as it is being hosted in Charlotte and Dean Smith is the ASG coach this year. To get any end-of-season awards, he will likely still need to find another level, mainly by carrying this team to more results and helping them climb the table.
TBM: I don't think giving up four goals in back to back road games on short rest is ever a good thing, what went wrong last week in Nashville and Orlando?
BM: In Nashville, they came out of the gate slow, and Nashville was able to capitalize early, forcing Charlotte to try and fight their way back into the game multiple times. Orlando had some nice finishes, and Charlotte struggled to hang in, especially after the third goal against. They were two different games with each having its own issues, but I would say one of the overlapping problems has been inconsistent starts to games and long, lackluster stretches throughout, giving opponents opportunities to get or extend leads on the road.
TBM: Despite that no good terrible week in MLS play, Charlotte currently sits in 5th a couple of points back of the Revs. Is this about where expectations were for this team and how much higher could they push in the East?
BM: Expectations have been set by the club that top 4 in the EC will be a yearly standard and trophies. They were just knocked out of the USOC after rotating heavily so more emphasis will now be put on a 4th or higher place finish. This makes this weekend's game an important one as New England just passed Charlotte in the table, they rotated heavily in USOC as well, and the Revs have a game in hand. If Charlotte drops all three points this weekend after rotating heavily and getting knocked out of USOC on Tuesday, that would be a difficult one for the fanbase to handle, especially with the current 3-game skid.
Lineup/Injuries/Predictions/Etc.
Tim Ream, Henry Kessler, and Harry Toffolo are out. Wilfried Zaha should be back after an injury before the Nashville game.
The starting XI will likely look something like this:
GK: Kahlina
LB: Schnegg LCB: Privett RCB: Morrison RB: Byrne
CM: Bronico CM: Westwood AM: Biel
LW: Zaha ST: Toklomati RW: Aloko
Hard to predict another 4 goal loss, but the Revs are getting results so I think this one is definitely tricky especially if Charlotte start slow which has been a common thread on the road. I think New England win 2-1.
