Two sides separated by just two points at the top end of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference will do battle on Wednesday, as New England Revolution welcome Atlanta United to the Gillette Stadium.
Despite suffering a defeat at the weekend, the hosts remain third, two places above their visitors with a game in hand ahead of their 22nd MLS fixture.
Match preview
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After their disappointing 10th-placed Eastern Conference finish in last season's Major League Soccer campaign, New England Revolution have enjoyed a far stronger run this time around, putting themselves in pole position to qualify in one of the first playoff places.
In their 21 league outings thus far, Bruce Arena's side have managed to put 37 points on the board, just five fewer than they managed in 34 games last year, having won 10 of their contests while suffering seven defeats.
After three straight draws left the Revs on 27 points from 16 matches, they would quickly improve their standing with a run of home victories in June, firstly beating Inter Miami and Orlando City 3-1, before making it three on the bounce as Bobby Wood and Giacomo Vrioni found the net against Toronto, after an early opener for the visitors, to seal a 2-1 triumph.
The winning run was then halted, albeit by a pleasing 2-2 draw away at conference leaders FC Cincinnati, but they now head into Wednesday's game on the back of a first MLS defeat since mid-May, having travelled to New York Red Bulls on Sunday and lost 2-1, despite Brandon Bye levelling the game in the 76th minute, as Wikelman Carmona restored their hosts' lead with the decisive goal five minutes from time.
Nonetheless, Arena's men do still sit in an enviable position in third spot, just one point behind second-placed Nashville SC and one and two points ahead of fourth-placed Columbus Crew and Wednesday's visitors in fifth, while boasting a game in hand on all three sides, and they will hope to further cement their position in the upper playoff places with what would be another huge triumph on home turf.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, will travel hoping to bridge that gap and leapfrog the hosts on the back of consecutive victories.
Having fought in and around the playoff places since the beginning of the MLS season, Atlanta United saw their hopes take a hit between late April and early June, as they managed just seven points from an eight-match span, firstly suffering three straight defeats before a lone victory was followed by four consecutive draws with Chicago Fire, Orlando City, New England Revolution and Los Angeles FC.
That victory and the following draws, including a dramatic 3-3 scoreline in the previous meeting with Wednesday's opponents, did form the basis of an unbeaten run, though, as they would follow it up with a 3-1 beating of DC United and a draw at home to New York City, only to see the improved run brought to an abrupt end by a 4-0 thrashing away at New York Red Bulls in late June.
Gonzalo Pineda's side have again succeeded in bouncing back in impressive fashion, though, firstly returning to winning ways after the turn of the month, thanks to goals from Thiago Almada and Brooks Lennon, before most recently travelling to CF Montreal and leaving with all three points as Lennon hit the only goal of the game early in the second half.
Thanks to those consecutive wins, the Five Stripes have quickly climbed up to fifth spot in the Eastern Conference, and with just one, two and three-point gaps up to Columbus Crew, the Revs and Nashville SC, they will be keen to continue their climb with a statement win on their travels.
Team News
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New England Revolution come into the game without midfielder Latif Blessing, who will serve a suspension after he was sent off on the hour mark in their defeat to New York Red Bulls, while defender DeJuan Jones is also unavailable as he is away on international duty with the USA.
Carles Gil and Noel Buck could also miss out again, meaning Ian Harkes should be in line for a first start for the club following his recent switch from Dundee United, with the 28-year-old set to join Matt Polster.
Bobby Wood will continue to lead the line, having notched up seven goals alongside four assists in 19 MLS appearances so far this term, while Giacomo Vrioni and Gustavo Bou will fight to join him up front.
Atlanta United are set to remain without star forward Georgios Giakoumakis, who missed their last game through injury after hitting 10 goals in his first 16 MLS appearances following an off-season move from Celtic.
Miguel Berry could again lead the line in his absence, while plenty of responsibility will also fall on Thiago Almada, who has chipped in with eight goals of his own this term, alongside a league-high tally of nine assists in 19 games.
Following their clean sheet in the win away at CF Montreal, Ronald Hernandez, Juan Jose Purata and Luis Abram should all keep their places in a back three in front of experienced stopper Brad Guzan.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Bye, Farrell, Romney, Sweat; Bajraktarevic, Harkes, Polster, Boateng; Vrioni, Wood
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Hernandez, Purata, Abram; Lennon, Sosa, Sejdic, Wiley; Wolff, Berry, Almada
We say: New England Revolution 1-2 Atlanta United
Atlanta United will travel with confidence on the back of consecutive victories, while the hosts may have lost a degree of momentum and are missing several key players.
We fancy Pineda's men to take a major scalp on their travels and leapfrog the Revs with a victory.
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