MLS Regular Season | Match #27
New England Revolution vs. LA Galaxy
Sunday, August 28 | 8 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: TV38, myRITV (Rhode Island)
- Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Charlie Davies (analyst), Tamara Brown (sideline)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
8th in Eastern Conference (8-8-10, 34 pts.)
Last Result | 4-0 loss at CF Montréal
Injuries and absences came to a head last weekend at Stade Saputo, where the Revs were missing eight potential contributors in a 4-0 loss to CF Montréal. The defeat snapped what had been a five-game unbeaten run as the Revs had been grinding out results despite being ravaged by injuries for the past month, and it was just their third loss in the past 18 league games dating back to April.
One point back of the final playoff place in the Eastern Conference with eight games remaining, the Revs now return to Foxborough to begin a critical three-game homestand. Sunday night’s meeting with the Galaxy will be the first of a trio of home games in a span of just eight days, with Chicago Fire FC (Wednesday, Aug. 31) and New York City FC (Sunday, Sept. 4) also coming to town in the next week.
LA Galaxy
7th in Western Conference (10-11-4, 34 pts.)
Last Result | 3-3 draw vs. Seattle Sounders FC
Much like the Revs, the Galaxy find themselves embroiled in the postseason race coming down the stretch run, as they currently occupy the last playoff spot in the West based on the wins tiebreaker. Recent arrivals like Riqui Puig and Gastón Brugman have been brought in to help the Galaxy in their quest to return to the playoffs, having reached the postseason just once in the past five years (2019).
Greg Vanney’s side has found its goalscoring form in recent weeks, bagging 10 goals in their last three games to average 3.33 goals per game, but going just 1-1-1 in that stretch. That’s because the Galaxy have also been vulnerable defensively, conceding nine goals during that three-game span.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution defender Brandon Bye
Brandon Bye has been a staple on the Revolution’s backline this season, playing just shy of 2,000 minutes to rank fourth on the team behind Carles Gil, DeJuan Jones, and Andrew Farrell. The right back has also been one of the Revolution’s best attacking weapons, registering a career-best six assists, second on the team and tied for the most by a Revolution defender in a single season in club history.
With several of the Revolution’s biggest attacking weapons – Gustavo Bou, Dylan Borrero, Giacomo Vrioni, etc. – recovering from injuries, Bye (on the right) and Jones (on the left) could continue to be called upon to provide an offensive burst from their outside back positions.
Galaxy forward Chicharito
Concacaf has long known the talents of Mexican forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, and the 34-year-old brought those talents to MLS and the LA Galaxy in 2020, scoring 30 goals in 56 appearances. Sunday night, however, sets up to be his first appearance against the Revolution.
Chicharito has been particularly lethal of late, scoring in three straight league games while totaling four goals and one assist during that stretch. He most recently scored in last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Seattle Sounders FC, using a deft first touch to split two defenders and finish inside the far post.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
New England continues to deal with a number of injuries ahead of their three-game homestand, though only rookie goalkeeper Jacob Jackson (ACL surgery) is listed as out for Sunday’s meeting with the Galaxy. Dylan Borrero, Gustavo Bou, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, and Giacomo Vrioni are all listed as questionable with leg injuries having missed time recently.
Henry Kessler, Noel Buck, and Maciel, meanwhile, should be back for the weekend.
“We are still short a number of players,” Bruce Arena said on Friday. “But it’s better. This week, we have some reserves that can help us. We have been shorthanded for a while now and it is getting a little bit better and hopefully, as we move into the month of September, we will be at full speed.”
Galaxy
Information not available.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena
“Any positive points we get out of these next three games are going to be very important since the playoff race is tight. If you take away, maybe, the early part of the year, we have played fairly well at home and hopefully it is going to be a big advantage this week. It is going to be a difficult week for us as well as our opponent. We play three games in eight days, so it is going to be challenging and hopefully, we get some good support in the stands and we’re able to play well and get some points.”
New England Revolution midfielder Matt Polster
“I think the most important thing in a stretch like this, especially at home, is making sure that first game is strong, and we somehow come together as a group and get three points. That’s what’s most important, because the turnaround to play Chicago and then NYC is within five days, six days of each other, so the first thing we need to focus on is the Galaxy, putting a good performance together, a strong performance, and getting three points.”
