A pair of teams looking to salvage something from disappointing seasons will meet on Saturday night when the New England Revolution host Atlanta United at Foxborough, Mass.
New England (8-15-8, 32 points) will try to snap a four-match winless stretch and earn its first home victory since beating D.C. United 2-0 on Aug. 9. The Revolution’s offensive has been inconsistent of late with four goals across those past four games.
Prior to New England’s most recent defeat, a 1-0 road setback against the Philadelphia Union last Saturday, the club parted ways with head coach Caleb Porter, who went 22-38-15 across all competitions in less than two full seasons at the helm.
Pablo Moreira took over as the Revolution’s interim head coach, with the team mathematically eliminated from postseason contention in his debut against the Union.
“I know I have the belief from that group in there,” Moreira said. “They believe in themselves. They believe in us. They believe in what we’re trying to throw out there. We just want to do what’s best for the club. From my standpoint, just control the controllables. Take it one day at a time.”
Despite the struggles this season, New England continues to receive consistent production from forward Carles Gil, who leads the Revs with 10 goals and 11 assists in 31 games.
With four games remaining, Atlanta (5-13-12, 27 points) has its worst goal differential (minus-18) since joining the league in 2017. The club has never finished a season with less than six victories.
Atlanta’s last two outcomes have epitomized its season, as the club outshot Columbus 17-7 in a 5-4 loss Sept. 13, before again posting a 17-7 advantage on shots during a 1-1 draw against San Diego FC last Saturday.
“We have to take advantage of those chances we have. That’s a game (against San Diego) we should have won,” Atlanta head coach Ronny Deila said. “I’ve been happy with our performances, our discipline, attitude. Being in the situation that we’re in, it shows that we are really committed and want to get everything we can out of these last games.”
Emmanuel Latte Lath paces Atlanta with seven goals, while Aleksey Miranchuk adds six.
–Field Level Media
