Know Thy Enemy: Revs vs Red Bulls Afternoon Edition
New England gets an early wake up call and will know if their season can be salvaged before the sun goes down.
The New England Revolution play hosts to the New York Red Bulls today at Gillette Stadium (2:30 PM EST, MLS Season Pass) and if Apple actually knows what an afternoon kickoff is then surely the Revs should know how to score goals.
Today is effectively the seminal moment in the Revs season, because without a win today I do not see a path forward for the Revs to get above the playoff line the rest of the season.
New England was supposed to use March to jumpstart or at least stabilize its campaign before a brutal stretch in April that features three road games and a repeat match against NYCFC at home. Keep in mind that the Revs had just four points through their first nine games and seven points through thirteen games before that impressive June winning streak last year.
Now Caleb Porter will have to get the Revs first win potentially without Brayan Ceballos who ended up with a Questionable tag after the bye week. This means a first Revs start for either Tanner Beason or Wyatt Omsberg at centerback in a backline that has been largely playing well.
What hasn’t been playing well is the attacking group, and it’s not a Carles Gil problem but he has to be part of the solution. For an offense that looks at time directionless and slow, Gil needs to lead by example and make quicker, more decisive plays on the ball and show urgency that his coach might not.
The Red Bulls on the other hand, could be set up well for April. A win today would give them 11 points on the year, a full ten points clear of New England. RBNY then returns to Not Red Bull Arena for three home games next month against Chicago, DC, and Montreal with only a road trip to Orlando mixed in.
I would be very… *sighs* … bullish on the Energy Drinks prospects of being a playoff team if they notch a win at Gillette today. Not a play-in team, cause they’re very close to that line in 7th right now, I mean an actual middle seed in the East which is where we hoped the Revs might be last year and should be this year.
As always we talk to our good friend Michael Battista of Hudson River Blue Sports Nation NYC, who is far too modest and/or bearish on the Red Bulls early season at least until Lewis Morgan gets back healthy. Be sure to check out their site for coverage of the RBNY half of today’s game.
TBM: RBNY has eight points through five games, what has been their best and worst performance through the early part of the season?
MB: New York has been great on defense except for one game, and that would be the Orlando City match at Red Bull Arena - I mean Sports Illustrated Stadium. Raheem Edwards looked awful in his first start and directly accounted for one of OCSC's goals while the rest of the defense couldn't keep up with City. I have to call that the worst performance when the only loss of the season came against a pretty well regarded FC Cincinnati squad in the first game of the year. For the best game, gotta go with the Nashville SC win where New York just pressed and controlled the absolute hell out of the former NPSL team. A goal in the first minutes by the young Mohammed Sofo and Forsberg grabbing a goal was a great way to give fans hope for this roster as injuries piled up, and they continue to do just that.
TBM: Emil Forsberg has three goals already this year, but the team as a whole has only notched six so far. Are there concerns about the offense or are we just waiting for someone to break out?
MB: If there aren't concerns, I'd be concerned about that. The team's best option at "breakout" is Lewis Morgan who is hurt right now. Emil Forsberg leads the team in goals but he's never been a "goal leader" in his career, that's just not his style so fan's shouldn't expect him to break out. The New York offense is a mix of children, a 36 year-old who just celebrated a birthday, and injuries. That being said, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting could still find himself and break out for a 15+ goal season. I personally don't see that. The New York offense hasn't been a one man show in some time and I expect this year it will once again be scoring by committee. Then again, I was in Los Angeles for MLS Cup last December because of that so it has proven itself.
TBM: In contrast to the Revs April slate, RBNY gets three of four at home next month with the best team in the standings being the upstart Chicago Fire. Including the Revs game, how many points could RBNY have by the end of April to set themselves up for the rest of the year?
MB: New York can and should beat CF Montreal and DC United at home, so that's six points right there. Considering how well Orlando City played us the home leg for them should go their way, so mark that a loss. The ChIcago game will be the interesting test and I really can't even fathom how it will go. Let's call it a draw to be safe. So seven points in four games, combined with the eight New York has now, will make it 15 points though the first two full months. RBNY had 17 points at the end of April 2024 (through 10 games) and future Eastern Conference finalist Orlando City had nine points. What I'm getting at here is "setting themselves up for the rest of the year" means little - there's so much season left.