The New England Revolution will attempt to win their first consecutive MLS matches since early May on Sunday when they host a New York City side that looks prepared to move on from its top scorer.
Alhassan Yusuf scored his first career MLS hat trick on Wednesday night to lift the Revolution (10-7-3, 33 points) to a 3-0 win at D.C. United.
Yusuf’s feat put him on five goals for the season, making him the Revs’ second-leading scorer during a campaign in which striker Leonardo Campana has missed significant time with an adductor injury.
On Sunday, New England will also be without midfielder Brooklyn Raines, who is serving a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation. Matt Polster, Diego Fagundez or Jackson Yueill could fill his box-to-box role for the current fourth-place team in the Eastern Conference.
“We still didn’t make the decision,” said New England manager Marko Mitrovic. “We are talking about that. We are in the process because it’s not an ad hoc decision — just throw one player there and let’s see what’s going to happen. We are trying to predict scenarios that will happen on the field and what’s the best balance for us.”
Meanwhile, seventh-place NYCFC (7-8-5, 26 points) looks ready to part with attacker Nicolas Fernandez Mercau. The Argentine has reportedly been asking for a transfer for months, and this week journalist Cesar Luis Merlo reported Sporting Kansas City had made a $23 million bid for his services.
The Cityzens also appear to have replacements ready in summer acquisitions Luighi and Benie Traore.
The pair have already combined for three goals, with Luighi bagging his second in Wednesday night’s 2-1 loss at Cincinnati. And while that was ultimately a negative result, manager Pascal Jansen saw positives in the tandem’s performance.
“I’m pretty satisfied,” Jansen said. “Obviously, there are always things that have to be improved, but given the fact that the guys haven’t been in the building that long just yet, you can see sparks of their qualities.”
Fernandez Mercau has also continued to play despite reportedly being on the transfer block, scoring in four straight MLS appearances before he failed to find the net in Ohio. With 13 goals, he’s one of three players tied for second behind Petar Musa’s league-leading total of 16 for FC Dallas.
–Field Level Media
