New England Revolution can take one step closer to securing the Eastern Conference title with a win against playoff-chasing Columbus Crew this weekend.
The runaway leaders have been in imperious form so far this season, whilst the Crew are in the midst of their worst run of form all year.
Match preview
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Since Bruce Arena took charge of the Revs in 2019, they have never looked back and now stand a big chance of winning their maiden Major League Soccer Cup.
Playoff semi-finalists in 2020, the most successful manager in US Men's National Team history will be keen to see his side see out the rest of the campaign on top of the Eastern Conference table.
New England Revolution have tasted defeat just once in their last 12 fixtures and are yet to suffer back-to-back losses all season.
Despite their lofty position in the table, the Revs have often struggled in their recent meetings against the Crew.
Winning just one of their last seven meetings with the side from Ohio, an 18th win of the season is not guaranteed for Arena's men, with the Crew looking to pick up points to keep their playoff hopes alive.
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Having lifted their second MLS Cup last season, Columbus Crew failed to live up to their expectations and have struggled to find a consistent run of results.
Like many MLS sides before them, the Crew were unable to make any inroads in the CONCACAF Champions League and were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by four-time winners Monterrey.
Victorious in back-to-back matches on just one occasion so far this campaign, Caleb Porter's side enter the final stretch of the season still chasing a playoff spot.
Similar to their MLS form this year, the Crew have had an indifferent relationship with the playoffs, qualifying in three of the last five seasons.
Aware that if they are able to make the jump and get back into contention anything can happen, the reigning MLS champions will have their work cut out if they are to take points off New England Revolution.
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Team News
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After undergoing anterior cruciate ligament damage in April, Aidan Morris has missed a large chunk of the Crew's season and will be forced to sit out the remainder of the campaign.
Morris is one of a number of Crew players forced onto the sideline, with Perry Kitchen, Artur and Kevin Molino all out injured.
Lucas Zelarayan has top-scored for the Crew and he will likely feature behind Gyasi Zardes in the Columbus attack.
Substitute Tajon Buchanan's seventh goal of the season secured the win against New York City FC in their last match and the 22-year-old winger is in line to pick up his first start since late August.
Former Aston Villa midfielder Carles Gil leads the way for the most assists across MLS and the 28-year-old could also come back into the side following a stint out through injury.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Turner; Bye, Farrell, Kessler, Jones; Kaptoum, Polster, Boateng; McNamara, Kizza, Bunbury
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Room; Afful, Mensah, Wormgoor, Santos; Nagbe, Gil; Diaz, Zelarayan, Etienne; Zardes
We say: New England Revolution 2-1 Columbus Crew
Many teams have challenged, but been unable to unseat New England Revolution this year, with their next target getting three points against the Columbus Crew.
That being said, the Crew have been a bogey side for the Revs in recent years and Arena's men could once again come up stuck if they are not careful.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a New England Revolution win with a probability of 66.68%. A draw had a probability of 19.9% and a win for Columbus Crew had a probability of 13.47%.
The most likely scoreline for a New England Revolution win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.18%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.84%) and 2-1 (9.72%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.44%), while for a Columbus Crew win it was 0-1 (4.59%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood.
