New England Revolution Week 12 Preview: Columbus Crew

Coming off a big win, can the New England Revolution get revenge on conference rivals Columbus Crew?

The New England Revolution have a chance at some quick vengeance as they take on the Crew for the second time in four weeks.

In their last matchup the Crew defeated the Revs 2-0 in Columbus. The match was very one sided and added to New England’s disappointing start.

After their commanding 4-0 win over Real Salt Lake, the Revs had a bye week and should be ready and raring to go. Let’s look at how this match could play out.

New England Revolution

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The New England Revolution are sitting in seventh place in the East with 13 points. This week’s match will be only the sixth game played at home out of their 12 this season.

At home the Revs have had the advantage, as they haven’t lost any of their last nine home games. They have won seven and drawn two of those last nine.

Over the last five games, the Revs have put up three draws followed by their loss to Crew and finally their win two weeks ago. If they can continue their unbeaten streak at home they should start moving up the East standings.

The most important part of New England’s game will be their defense, who have been streaky all season. The clean sheet against Real will hopefully mark the start of consistency for the Revs’ backline, especially against a much better attack.

The New England Revolution could be without their top goal scorer as Juan Agudelo is listed as questionable with an upper extremity injury.

If Agudelo does miss the game the Revs’ attack shouldn’t suffer too badly. Lee Nguyen, Diego Fagundez and Kei Kamara all tallied a goal and at least one assist against Real. It was the third time since 2010 that the Revs had three players score and assist in a regular season game.

Projected Starters:

Cody Cropper – Andrew Farrell, Antonio Mlinar Delamea, Benjamin Angoua, Chris Tierney – Xavier Kouassi; Scott Caldwell, Kelyn Rowe, Diego Fagundez – Lee Nguyen, Kei Kamara

Columbus Crew SC

The Columbus Crew sit in second place in the Eastern Conference behind 19 points. A win on the road this week could be a huge boost towards the playoffs. Another win over a division rival would put them solidly above the red line.

The Crew are currently on a nearly month-long road trip, playing all but one game as the away team. Their 3-2 win over the Impact in Montreal started it off on a good note. Justin Meram notched a hat trick to win it.

The Crew’s midfield work has been outstanding, and will be a key against the Revs who have struggled with possession.

Just like the Revs however, the Crew’s defense has been their weakest point. Despite the high standing, Columbus have lost four of their last seven matches.

The Columbus Crew have won four of the last five meetings with the Revolution. The last three ended with doughnuts in the Revs’ goal total.

The Crew has never shut out the Revs in four consecutive games.

Projected Starters:

Zack Steffen – Harrison Afful, Jonathan Mensah, Nicolai Naess, Jukka Raitala – Wil Trapp, Artur – Kekuta Manneh, Federico Higuain, Justin Meram – Ola Kamara

Prediction:

In the overall series the Crew lead 34-22 with 12 ties and have scored 20 more goals (104-84). The record stands at 15-14 with six ties in New England though the Revs have scored five more goals at home (47-42).

Despite the chance to tie up the home record, I predict that the game will end in a 2-2 draw.

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The New England Revolution attack will be powerful but the defense won’t be able to hold off the Crew.

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