MLS playoff preview: New England Revolution vs New York City FC
The Revolution are set to take on New York City FC in the MLS playoff Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night at Gillette Stadium. The game will be the first in 23 days for the Revolution, due to Major League Soccer’s international break and the Revs securing a bye for the first round of the playoffs as the number one seed.
Sharpness will be the main concern for the Revs after the extended break. That break, however, should mean that New England is feeling fresh and will have a completely healthy lineup.
Revs star striker and Polish national team player Adam Buksa has been nursing a foot injury that was announced on November 2nd by Jakub Kwiatkowski, Media Officer of the Polish Football Association. Buksa is expected to be available for the playoffs, with MLSsoccer.com reporting that the Revolution did not expect Buksa to miss any playoff games.
NYCFC will have no concerns about sharpness as they come off a strong 2-0 win over Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last Sunday. NYCFC’s attack has been looking sharp as of late, led by Argentinean forward Valentín Castellanos, who has seven goals in his last five games. Castellanos was the MLS Golden Boot winner with 19 goals and eight assists in 32 games.
New England Revolution and NYCFC in MLS playoff action on Tuesday
The team from the Bronx however, will have to attempt to slow down the Revolution’s attack of Buksa, Gustavo Bou, and Carles Gil. New England boost the top offense in the league as they scored 65 goals in the MLS regular season. New York City will counter with their own offense, which put up 56 goals over the course of the regular season, good enough for second best in the Eastern Conference.
There is a sense of familiarity between the two teams as they have played each other three times this season, with New England winning two games and New York City winning the other. Despite seeing the Revs three times this season, NYCFC has yet to see the Revs roll out all three of Bou, Buksa, and Gil in the starting lineup at the same time. NYCFC will certainly have quite the challenge ahead of them in this one.
How to watch New England Revolution vs NYCFC
When is it being played? Tuesday 30 November, 19:30 (ET)
Where is the match being played? Gillette Stadium
TV channel? FuboTV, Fox Sports 1, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports App
Referee? TBA
VAR? TBA
Prediction
Viewers should expect an exciting game filled with many goalscoring opportunities. The Revs should be able to control the possession against NYCFC and garner the better scoring chances, however New England rarely keeps clean sheets, despite a strong defense.
The chances will be there for Castellanos and NYCFC. Both sides should find the back of the net in this game, but the New England offense may show to be too much for the New York City’s defense. Buksa’s ability to connect on the end of crosses and his excellent hold up play will give the Revs a dynamic they were missing in their final loss of the regular season against Inter Miami.
If Buksa is healthy, expect him to play a key role in opening up the offense for Bou and Gil to dominate the run of play. NYCFC will most likely grab their scoring opportunities off of counter attacks, which the Revs have been vulnerable to. With Matt Turner in net however, finishing off chances will not be easy for NYCFC. Expect the Revs’ stars to come up big in this one and be the difference in a highly entertaining match.
Score prediction: Revs 3-1 NYCFC.