Revolution II Preview: 8/3 @ Atlanta United 2
Richie Williams and Revs II hit the road looking for their first win since June 14th.
Richie Willams and New England Revolution II will look to right the ship following a turbulent two months as they hit the road looking to overcome their recent woes. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match.
Date: Saturday, August 3r
Opponent: Atlanta United 2
Time: 8:30 PM ET
Venue: Fifth Third Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia
Broadcast: mlsnextpro.com
Weather: Things could get messy in Kennesaw come Saturday night as thunderstorms are slated to roll into the area around kickoff. Rain could also play a factor as the chance for precipitation sits around 50 come kickoff and only drops to the low 40s and high 30s throughout the match. On top of rain and thunder, both sides will have to deal with the heat. Despite a late kickoff, the feel-like temp will sit at 87° come kickoff and remain above 80 throughout the night.
New England Revolution II:
Williams and his side have been throughthe ringer since the calendar flipped to May, as Revs II have gone an abysmal 2-9-1 since May.
Revolution II got a much-needed break the past weekend after suffering losses in their previous five matches. Their latest outing saw them hit the road to face Chicago Fire II, where they suffered a 3-2 loss.
On top of poor results early, Revs II will look to overcome their 2024 road woes. Through nine matches, Revs II have gone an abysmal 0-8-1 and have a negative 12-goal differential on the road.
While things have been extremely rocky, things look to be getting better for Williams and Revs II as some injured names have returned to training.
On Tuesday, Revs II posted images from training that saw Jacob Akanyirige and Hesron Barry on the field again. Barry has been out of action since clocking 90 minutes against NYRB II on June 14th with an undisclosed injury. Akanyirige has yet to appear for Revs II in 2024 after making 17 appearances in 2023.
Victor Souza also posted a photo of himself at training to his Instagram story. Souza has been out of action since clocking 90 minutes against Chattanooga.
Olger Escobar could also return to Revolution II after having a standout performance with Guatemala during the recent Concacaf U-20 Championship, where he tallied three goals and an assist over four appearances.
Hopefully, we’ll see some names return to the lineup as Revolution II seeks their first win since June 14th while simultaneously looking for their first road win of 2024.
Atlanta United 2:
Like Revolution II, it’s been tough sledding for Steve Cooke and Atlanta United 2 as they enter Saturday’s match one spot ahead of Revs II in the table at 13th place with 18 points on a 4-9-4 record with two shootout victories.
While things had been tough for Atlanta, their recent fortune changed on July 27th when they secured a 2-1 win over last-placed Huntsville City.
Despite the poor results, Atlanta’s success in 2024 has come from the feet of Karim Tmimi and Javier Armas. Tmimi enters Saturday with a club-leading six goals over 17 appearances. Armas has five goals over 17 appearances.
Revs II will square off against a familiar face as they go toe to toe against former Revs II midfielder Noble Okello. After standing out during the first team’s preseason camp in 2023, Okello officially joined the organization on March 16th, 2023. Okello appeared in 12 matches for Revs II, where he tallied one goal over 541 minutes.
His time with Revolution II ended following the 2023 season as Okello became a free agent. Okello continued his professional career on December 21st, 2023, after inking a year-long deal with Atlanta United 2.
Since signing, Okello has tallied one goal and two assists over 17 appearances and has clocked a staggering 1,400 minutes for Atlanta United 2.
Previous Meetings
Saturday marks the third all-time meeting between Atlanta and New England.
The first came on March 26th, 2023, when both sides met in Kennesaw to open their 2023 MLS NEXT Pro seasons. Things got off to a good start in the 37th minute when Aiden McFadden's own goal led to Revs II getting on the board first. Two more goals from Jake Rozhansky in the 52nd minute and Pierre Cayet in the 60th had Revs II rolling with a 3-0 lead.
Things soured in the closing ten minutes. It started with Raimar finding the back of the net in the 84th minute. It only got worse in the 90th minute when Colby Quiñones took Karim Tmimi down in the box as Atlanta earned a penalty. Former Revolution Homegrown and Revs II midfielder Nick Firmino stepped to the spot and drilled the ball into the back of the net to shrink Revs II's lead to one.
Thankfully, Revs II held on to secure the 3-2 victory away from home.
Things weren’t as close when both sides met inside Gillette Stadium on August 13th, 2023. Thanks to an onslaught of goals from Damian Rivera, Jordan Adebayo-Smith, Esmir Bajraktarević, and, ironically, Noble Okello, Revolution II secured a dominant 5-1 victory.