The New England Revolution have been one of the surprising teams in the league this year, surging to the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference. Sam Lattof of The Blazing Musket gave us his view from the inside.
Notable injuries
Jack Harrison and Alhassan Yusuf will miss out on the match due to lower-body injuries suffered prior to the international break. Leo Campana has been out since March with a lower-body injury. Ilay Feingold has yet to earn a start since returning to the pitch just before the international window. He featured for Israel so he could start instead of Polster but Marko Mitrovic has been real careful with him.
Recent form
The Revs have been one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. They aren’t as hot as they have been prior to the break but still have performed quite well, especially considering the loss of Harrison and Yusuf.
Marko Mitrovic has really turned the team around. The players have adapted well to his high-intensity style of play. He likes to press opponents, and the forwards have done a good job of causing turnovers that turn into goals.
With the team currently second in the Eastern Conference, there is a lot of optimism surrounding it. Just making the playoffs is a massive improvement after the Caleb Porter era but it will be interesting to see how well they do in the postseason.
New England needs to start building some positive momentum headed into the crucial part of the season so this match against Seattle is an important one.
Key players
Carles Gil is having his best scoring output as a member of the Revs. He leads the team in goals scored and continues to be the straw that stirs the drink in New England's midfield.
Peyton Miller is also having a breakout year. Mitrovic is deploying him more as a forward rather than an outside back as seen when Miller was with the USMNT and on the club level Miller has been a great attacking threat.
Finally, Matt Turner continues to be one of the top goalkeepers in MLS. He has kept New England in some games it really shouldn't have been in.
One thing opposing fans should know
The Revs have really struggled at striker. Dor Turgeman has struggled to consistently score and can be easily frustrated.
Additionally, the Revs had their set-piece coach leave in the middle of the season and New England hasn't been as clinical in both defending and attacking dead-ball plays.
Projected lineup
4–2–3–1: Matt Turner; Will Sands, Mamadou Fofana, Ethan Kohler, Matt Polster; Jackson Yueill, Brooklyn Raines; Peyton Miller , Carles Gil, Daniel Gazdag; Dor Turgeman
