Know Thy Enemy: Revolution vs Nashville The End is Near Edition
Know Thy Enemy: Revolution vs Nashville The End is Near Edition
It's probably been desperation times for both the Revs and Coyotes for a while now as both teams need three points to keep their playoff hopes alive.
As the New England Revolution (8W-17L-4D, 28 pts) host Nashville SC (8W-13L-9D, 33 pts) at Gillette Stadium later tonight (730 pm EDT, Apple MLS Season Pass), the struggles of both teams this year have been well documented.
New England suffered two major spells of injuries at the start of the year and around Leagues Cup and Nashville sacked head coach Gary Smith back in March, replacing him with former USMNT assistant BJ Callaghan announced as his replacement in July.
The Revs aside from a June stretch that included five wins in six and four in a row have been largely dreadful and Nashville just came off an eight game losing streak that encompassed all of July and August in league play before rattling off their current three game unbeaten streak with seven points in nine.
New England back in the Eastern Conference basement has a game in hand and two on eighth place Toronto who are eight points ahead of them, but a brutal end to the season at Columbus and Miami means they need to nearly win out the rest of their games just to get close to the playoff line. Nashville meanwhile sit three points behind TFC with a game in hand and actually have a reasonable chance to make that play-in game.
Nashville’s primary issues have been on offense, as they have a conference low 29 goals thanks mostly to Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar with Teal Bunbury contributing off the bench. The Revs aren’t much better with just 32 goals on the year but have conceded 16 more on the defensive end than Nashville has.
Overall, neither of these two teams possess a resume that would indicate they are capable of a deep playoff run, but a Nashville win would at least give them a reasonable chance to at least make the bracket. The Revs need three or four wins just to get level and unless Columbus and Miami are resting players late in the year there are few real scenarios where New England plays in November.
Which might be for the best in New England. It’s been a tumultuous first year under Caleb Porter navigating numerous long term injuries and a quarterfinal run in CONCACAF play early on to a Leagues Cup tournament played without any of his designated players.
The Revs had hoped for a massive reset button for 2024 and now have to do it again this offseason for 2025. New England can still be publicly saying they’re pushing for the playoffs but at best that would lead to a quick exit against the Eastern Conference top seed in a three game series that probably won’t go the distance.
Getting players like Peyton Miller, Alhassan Yusuf, and Esmir Bajraktarevic as many minutes as possible down the stretch should be one of the main goals as well as evaluating the numerous veterans with contract decisions to make at the end of the year. There is still a strong base roster for the Revs but there could be a lot of depth overhauled in the winter and it’s time to start really thinking about those decisions now.
As always we are joined by our good friend Ben Wright of seemingly everywhere but we’re going to shoutout the OG Broadway Sports. Be sure to check out their site for NE-NSH coverage and follow Ben for his league wide stuff because you should have been doing this already, what’s wrong with you.
TBM: I was personally stoked for longtime USMNT assistant BJ Callaghan to get the Nashville job, have there been any significant early returns or major changes with him as head coach?
BW: There have been some pretty significant improvements for Nashville. Pre-Callaghan, Nashville were sixth-worst in expected points per game. They've improved to 13th-best in expected points post Callaghan. It's taken time - they were bad in Leagues Cup and improved-but-wasteful between Leagues Cup and the international break. But in the three games post-international break, they've quietly been one of the better sides in MLS. They've allowed the fewest xG per game and have finished their chances better, even if they've still lacked the final ball or shot at times. They're at the very beginning of a long project, but the initial signs have been better than anyone expected when he was hired.
TBM: Hany Mukhtar (6G/9A) and Sam Surridge (11G/2A) have scored most of Nashville's goals this year, but the team is last in the league offensively. Would NSH benefit more from another scorer or another creator to free up Hany?
BW: Surridge has been legitimately good this year, especially considering how bad the team has been and the lack of service he's had to work with. Mukhtar struggled for most of the year, but he's looked like a new player under Callaghan. Both players should still be among the best in their positions in MLS, and I expect a much better 2025 from Mukhtar. They need more pieces around them, though. Tyler Boyd looked like that piece until his freak ACL tear this summer, and he'll likely miss the first portion of 2025. Jonny Perez has looked promising since joining on loan, and Jacob Shaffelburg is an exciting-if-inconsistent option as well. I'd be shocked if they don't add several attacking pieces this winter.
TBM: I know it's a bleak outlook on either team making the playoffs, but if Nashville does make the postseason how far could they go?
BW: Like I said, Nashville have been a decent team for the past month. They're not going to be anyone's pick to make a deep run, and if they make it past the play-in round I don't think they can beat Miami or Columbus in the first round. But they'll be much tougher to play against than they would have been two months ago. New England... yeah, they're dead.