In this edition of Oppo Research, Hudson River Blue spoke with Jake Catanese of The Blazing Musket to learn more about New England Revolution, New York City FC's opponent in the Round of 32 of Leagues Cup on Friday night. Here is your NYCFC vs New England preview.
• Recent Form (All Comps): D-W-D-L-L
• MLS Record: 7W, 2D, 14L | 23 points, 15th place
• Scoring Leader: Giacomo Vrioni, 8 goals
• Assist Leader: Carles Gil, 3 assists
1. Injuries lead to a losing streak
Hudson River Blue: The last time these two sides met, NYCFC defeated New England on the road in late May. After that, New England won four straight games but struggled heading into the Leagues Cup, losing four of their last six matches. What caused that winning run, and why did New England ultimately slip back into their losing habits?
Jake Catanese: Two key factors for that June run: the Revs heavy hitters were mostly healthy, and the Revs had broken out of their possession shell and started playing more direct soccer. Health-wise, the Revs have been without just about every major starter for the last month: Carles Gil, Giacomo Vrioni, Dylan Borrero, and Tomas Chancalay, who is on the season-ending injury list. Vrioni was electric in June as far as finishing goes, scoring six goals in six games from mid-June to mid-July. The team was getting early balls into the box, was much more aggressive on the counter, and was getting good performances from young players like Noel Buck and Esmir Bajraktarević. It was a refreshing change of pace from the first couple of months when the Revs were generally over-focused on possession and not getting the ball forward much, allowing defenses time to settle in.
