Revolution Vs. Red Bulls: New England Looks To Finish Strong Against New York

The New England Revolution are welcoming their conference rivals the New York Red Bulls to Gillette Stadium on Saturday night. The meeting will be the third of the season for the clubs, with the current record sitting split at 1-1-0. The Revs were just eliminated from playoff contention after losing to D.C. United last weekend, while the Red Bulls followed up a quality performance against Columbus on Saturday with a shambolic capitulation to Kansas City on Wednesday.

Top to bottom, the Red Bulls have one of the most talented rosters in the league. In the attack department, Thierry Henry is unlikely to feature due to his self-imposed ban on turf, but Kenny Cooper, Sebastien Le Toux, Tim Cahill, and Joel Lindpere can all score at any time. Be it Darrius Barnes, Stephen McCarthy, or A.J. Soares in the middle, any Revolution defender will have their hands full. Keying on any one player is likely to prove fruitless, and all of them can create and score, though Cahill's aerial prowess in particular will be a lot to deal with.

Defensively, the Red Bulls have been "bolstered" with the return of Rafa Marquez in midfield, though that might be more of a blessing for the Revs than a curse given the former Mexican international's propensity to slack off during games. New York concedes a lot of goals, though, so Jerry Bengtson and his pals should be licking their chops at this matchup. This could be an excellent opportunity for Juan Toja to score his first goal for the Revs as well.

New England's injury report is mercifully short. Saer Sene went under the knife to repair his ACL, so he's obviously out for a long time, but he's joined by Chris Tierney, who missed out on last week's game as well. He suffers from a combination of a knee sprain and hamstring strain. Michael Roach is probable with a contusion.

As noted above, the season series between these two team stands at 1-1-0. Overall, the Revs have a favorable 26-19-12 record. At home, though, New England has been dominant; the all-time 18-4-5 record includes an 11-0-4 regular season mark at Gillette.

The match will be broadcast live on CSN at 7:30 PM EST. 98.5 The Sports Hub will handle the radio call.

For more Revolution coverage, visit our team page and blog, The Bent Musket.