{"id":46205,"date":"2023-03-11T17:44:05","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T22:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=46205"},"modified":"2023-03-11T17:44:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-11T22:44:05","slug":"revs-vs-mls-cup-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2023\/03\/11\/revs-vs-mls-cup-champions\/","title":{"rendered":"The Revs Face Their Toughest Test Yet as They Visit the MLS Cup Champions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Only six teams in Major League Soccer are yet to drop points and two of them will go head-to-head tomorrow night. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/10\/14\/bruce-arena-reflects-on-2022\/\" target=\"_self\">The New England Revolution<\/a> struggled hugely on the road last year and so either way, a trip to the MLS Cup champions LAFC promises to be a baptism of fire.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Taking on the MLS Cup Champions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Keeping Up a Head of Steam<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The wins over Charlotte and Houston have been talked down by many, but a Revs victory at the newly named BMO Stadium would be undeniable. Four goals scored and zero conceded is excellent and this defensive stability is a strong sight to see.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/10\/10\/djordje-petrovic-press-conference\/\" target=\"_self\">Djordje Petrovic<\/a> was instrumental in the limited success enjoyed last season and he remains a key figure in the side. Head coach Bruce Arena isn\u2019t exactly getting carried away about the form of his goalkeeper though, \u201cHe wasn\u2019t kept that busy in the last game against Houston. He had one really good save at the end of the game in Charlotte, but he\u2019s very reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"fr\" dir=\"ltr\">En route to La La Land\u2708\ufe0f <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jrbZM86ofq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/jrbZM86ofq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; New England Revolution (@NERevolution) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NERevolution\/status\/1633996824334725120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>LAFC\u2019s season opener was set to be a major occasion against the Galaxy, their city rivals, only for the fixture to fall victim of bad weather. That was one has been arranged and when the MLS Cup champions did get 2023 underway, they did so in a thriller. LAFC stormed into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Giorgio Chiellini, Carlos Vela and Kwadwo Opoku only for the Portland Timbers to fire back with two of their own.<\/p>\n<p>Steve Cherundolo\u2019s men were able to hang on in that one and he then sent out as strong a side as possible in CCL <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2023\/03\/09\/lafc-vs-alajuelense-predictions\/\" target=\"_self\">against Alajuelense of Costa Rica<\/a>. This shorter gap between games could mean that the LA players are tired but Arena still anticipates an \u201cexciting, attacking type of game\u201d. In conjunction, defender Brandon Bye is wary of the Revs\u2019 desire to push forward, saying that \u201cas much as we want to attack, we also have to defend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read More:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2023\/02\/09\/new-england-revolution-2023-preview\/\" target=\"_self\">Can this New England Revolution 2023 Side Match the Achievements of 2 Years Prior?<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>How Will the Two Sides Line Up?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The leader at the back Andrew Farrell has been absent thus far in MLS and in his place, former Galaxy centre-half <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2023\/01\/06\/dave-romney-nashville-to-new-england\/\" target=\"_self\">Dave Romney<\/a> has formed a strong partnership with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2023\/02\/26\/henry-kessler-strikes-late-revs-charlotte\/\" target=\"_self\">Henry Kessler<\/a>. Shot-stopper Petrovic has sung the praises of Farrell as well as the mood around Kessler and Romney being very positive. \u201cHe is always a good communicator with the backline, and we are hoping that he\u2019s going to be back on the field soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Going further forward now and a brave decision from Arena paid off against the Dynamo. He opted for <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2023\/03\/06\/bobby-wood-revs-houston-dynamo\/\" target=\"_self\">Bobby Wood<\/a> over DP Giacomo Vrioni and Wood scored one of the three goals in the win at Gillette Stadium. There are two other names in the striker conversation and both will be keen to get amongst it. Here is what the head coach had to say about this: \u201cI don\u2019t know if [Altidore] will play. I don\u2019t know if Gustavo [Bou] will play either. We\u2019ll get our lineup set on Saturday, but they\u2019re both here in LA.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udd25Denis Bouanga is named the Player of the Match after an outstanding performance, including a remarkable hat-trick! \ud83c\udf87<\/p>\n<p>\u26ab\ufe0f\ud83d\udfe1 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LAFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@LAFC<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SCCL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#SCCL23<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/35jmyqHRde\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/35jmyqHRde<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheChampions\/status\/1634064470531010562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>As a result of the midweek fixture for the defending MLS Cup champions, Arena expects changes. \u201cAs a result, They have played the same lineup in their last two games, so I would anticipate there will be some changes. Perhaps they\u2019ll look a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Previously, there were questions about who would lead the line for LAFC, but Ligue 1 man Denis Bouanga is doing his best to make that position his own. He may well have been more off of the left in Costa Rica but he netted a hat-trick all the same and made the difference on the day.<\/p>\n<p>Both sides will fancy their chances in a must-watch MLS clash. The last two Supporters\u2019 Shield winners go toe-to-toe in LA tomorrow, the New England Revolution vs MLS Cup champions LAFC, live on the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2023\/02\/01\/mls-season-pass-on-apple-tv\/\" target=\"_self\">MLS Apple TV season pass<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports on March 4, 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Only six teams in Major League Soccer are yet to drop points and two of them will go head-to-head tomorrow night. The New England Revolution struggled hugely on the road last year and so either way, a trip to the MLS Cup champions LAFC promises to be a baptism of fire. Taking on the MLS [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3891,"featured_media":46207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1444,11],"tags":[5473,4249,115,4980,4719],"class_list":["post-46205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lafc","category-revolution","tag-bmo-stadium","tag-brandon-bye","tag-bruce-arena","tag-djordje-petrovic","tag-steve-cherundolo"],"modified_by":"Jamie Rooke","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3891"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}