Although it’s a small sample size, the New England Revolution have been two different teams this season–the powerhouse that dominates at home and the doormat that struggles on the road.
In Foxborough, Mass., the Revs are undefeated, outscoring two opponents 9-1. On enemy turf, they are winless, having been outscored 8-2.
When New England takes on visiting D.C. United on Saturday evening, the Revolution will try to leverage their home field mojo.
The Revs (2-3-0, 6 points) will have to do it without their coach, Marko Mitrovic, who received a red card in a 3-0 win last week over CF Montreal.
The Revolution have a balanced attack as nine different players have scored their 11 goals.
The top threats are Luca Langoni (one goal, five assists), who has been a dangerous feeder on set pieces, and Carles Gil (two assists), who led the team last year in goals with 10 and assists with 14.
“He’s got that special something. You can’t really explain it,” D.C. defender Lucas Bartlett said. “We can’t give him time and space.”
Unlike the Revolution, D.C. United (2-3-1, 7 points) have been better on the road than at home. Last week, D.C. suffered its most decisive loss, 4-0 at home to FC Dallas.
“What I can’t accept is that some players gave up after the third goal from Dallas,” D.C. United coach Rene Weiler said. “That, we have to avoid in the next few games.”
D.C. has won only one of its last 14 MLS games at home dating to May of last year. Yet, the United are 1-1-1 on the road this season, offering more hope for Saturday.
Making the assignment more daunting for D.C. is the potential loss of Tai Baribo, who has not trained this week because of an injury, Weiler said on Thursday. Baribo has scored three of the team’s four goals, which is tied for the fewest in the league.
Despite the recent struggles of D.C., which hasn’t scored in its last two matches, Mitrovic is still expecting a tough match.
“This is a very tough team to play against,” Mitrovic said. “Besides their last game where a lot of things didn’t go their way, they’ve been a very tough opponent in every game that they’ve played.”
In the 101st match of the series, New England will be without veteran midfielder Mott Polster, who will miss a few weeks after undergoing surgery. D.C. leads the series 42-41-17.
–Field Level Media
