Nashville SC heads to Foxborough to face off against the New England Revs on Saturday. This will be the first time these clubs face off since 2021 in a regulation match. Let's take a look at some of the factors.
Past: Nashville leads the series against New England 1- 0 -3. Since Nashville was in the Western Conference last season, these two Clubs did not face off. To kick off 2023, Nashville traded our trusted CB, Dave Romney, to
New England for $525k of GAM (Mike Jacobs loves that GAM). Then on February 10th, New England did beat Nashville SC 1-0 in a pre-season fixture. However, I do not hold much credence in pre-season matches.
Present- New England is currently 2 – 1 – 0 with their only loss being from a very intimidating LAFC (2022’s Shield and MLS Cup winners). In 2022, the Revs ended their season 10 – 12 – 12 but only lost four of those games at home. In their first two matches of the season, they didn’t give up a single goal; however that was against Houston and Montreal. Neither of which has shown much attacking strength. When faced against LAFC’s attack, they gave up four goals and did not look confident in the back. Nashville SC does not have the attacking strength that LAFC possesses but we’ve seen an improvement over the last year, granted isn’t that hard to do.
What will most likely make the difference with this match is injuries. With Nashville having six players (3 starters) either questionable or out, we will most definitely be playing for a draw. Revs do have Carles Gil as “questionable” but would probably still sub him in late if they feel they can get 3 points. This will be Nashville’s first big test of the season. (Followed up by a home match vs a strong looking Cincy)
Injuries:
Injuries | Nashville SC | New England Revs |
Questionable | Luke Haakenson (lower body), Alex Muyl (upper body), Anibal Godoy (upper body), Walker Zimmerman (illness) | Carles Gil (left leg) |
Out | Randall Leal ( upper body), Nick Depuy (out for season) | Nacho Gil (right leg), Jacob Jackson (Left ACL), Maciel (left achilles), Tommy McNamara (left leg) |
Future: Both teams look as though they will be making pushes for the playoffs (since almost everyone gets in) but this game will be bigger for the Revs than Nashville. With a beating from LAFC on Sunday, I feel a win at home is a must for the Revs. Anything else is a win for Nashville as they will remain undefeated while the Revs would go from a 0-4 loss to a draw / loss at home. Either way, I predict this will be a slow game with few to zero goals.
Prediction: 1-0 win with Hany's first goal of the season
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