PREVIEW – There are some teams that the New England Revolution is yet to cross paths with this year. Meanwhile, they will face FC Cincinnati this weekend for a third time this season. The Ohio side is coming off of a mid-week game whilst the Revs were afforded a well-deserved break. Can New England make it 3-for-3 against Cinci?
Can the New England Revolution Continue to Punish Cincinnati?
The Revs Are Unstoppable at the Moment
The start of this 2022 MLS season and current proceedings are like night and day for the New England Revolution. Turmoil was the buzzword a few months ago but Bruce Arena’s men are building a strong unbeaten run. Eight became nine last time out as a very strong performance from Djordje Petrovic forced a shutout in Vancouver.
After a few Western Conference clashes, the Revs have a stretch of matches with fellow Eastern teams. Their next cross-conference fixture is the visit of the LA Galaxy to Gillette Stadium at the end of August. Between now and then, including this weekend, New England could make a serious push towards the top of the tree.
First hat trick in his MLS career.🥇
First hat trick in @fccincinnati club history.🥇Brenner is your Player of the Week. pic.twitter.com/NNHqCOHKWR
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 1, 2022
Turning attention to the visitors and Cincinnati are fresh off of a drama-filled match versus NYCFC. It was back-and-forth between the two with the eventual outcome being 4-4. The headline has to be Brenner’s hat-trick, particularly given that the striker had seemingly been out in the cold prior to this.
It would be easy enough to assume that the Revs would possess an advantage following this but Arena doesn’t think it’s that simple: “Athletes today recover pretty quickly so they’ll have a good three days to get ready for us. I think they’re going to be fine.” He also pointed to their own recent slog of three games in a week as a reason not to read into this as much.
The New England Revolution Have the Upper Hand in This One!
As previously mentioned, it has been the New England Revolution that has come out on top thus far this year. Five of the six meetings in competitive competitions have gone the way of the Revs. Cinci was victorious in the very first game, back in 2019, before Arena’s men won five on the spin.
First, in 2022 it was a 5-1 Open Cup win but midfielder Arnor Traustason isn’t reading into it too much: “Obviously, the [U.S. Open] Cup was a whole different team from them.” That is true that Pat Noonan rotated heavily but even in the league, at full strength, it finished 3-2 in favour of the Boston boys.
“We’ve seen a lot of them. We will be ready on Sunday” is Traustason’s analysis of this weekend’s opponents and it will be interesting to see how the game is affected by the familiarity between the two.
Bruce Arena says the #NERevs will likely have an addition next week
— Seth (@SethMan31) July 1, 2022
Moving on elsewhere and on an unrelated note, Juventus striker Giacomo Vrioni is rumoured to be close to joining the club. Whilst Arena is often very reserved and keeps his cards close to his chest when it comes to most things, he let a little slip on the matter. He didn’t confirm anything but he did state that: “we’ll likely have an addition next week”.
Will Arnor Trausaston Continue in the XI?
Bruce Arena to join @ZoandBertrand on @985TheSportsHub in just 15 minutes to talk #NERevs and more! Tune in 📻 pic.twitter.com/dsaL2FfkPm
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) June 30, 2022
The Revs’ official injury report points towards the middle of the park being weaker than usual. Henry Kessler and Brandon Bye remain on the list with leg injuries whilst Sebastian Lletget could be sidelined for the same reason, Matt Polster is still under concussion protocol and Tommy McNamara is suspended. Traustason could well take advantage of this, here is coach Arena’s take on the Icelandic international: “Arnór is a very good professional, he trains real hard every day, and he’s getting his opportunities and hopefully there’ll be more ahead, and he can continue to fight for a starting position.”
On the other hand, the player himself had a say in his role in the New England Revolution. “I’m just keeping my head down, working hard, pushing the other guys who are starting, and being a professional and that’s what I’m paid to do. I just have to keep my head down and continue working.”
Things are certainly looking up for the New England Revolution and a win on the weekend at Gillette could see them jump up to fifth for the time being. This would see them overtake Cincinnati as well as Orlando City who don’t play until Monday night.
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Photo Credit: New England Revolution on June 30, 2022.
