New York City FC gets on the road again this weekend with the short trip to Foxborough to take on New England Revolution.
Managing Editor Mark Booth breaks down the Major Keys to the Match, presented by Ford…
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Selection Dilemmas
The international window has thrown up at least two big decisions for Patrick Vieira to make when he comes to choosing his lineup for Saturday’s game.
Alex Ring and Rodney Wallace, who have been key components in this 100% start to 2018, are both away with Finland and Costa Rica respectively, meaning there will be two changes to the team which overcame Orlando in the Bronx.
Missing the influential Finland international, who leads the league with his 13 interceptions, will be tough…
Tommy McNamara, Ebenezer Ofori and James Sands look to be the leading contenders to fill in for Ring in the center, while Jo Inge Berget and Jonathan Lewis will be vying for their first minutes of the campaign on the wing.
McNamara also appeared in a wide berth in preseason, so could also be an option there too as Vieira seeks to make it four wins in a row.
At Stake
If NYCFC do stay perfect through four games, they will tie the club record for consecutive MLS Regular Season wins.
In June 2017, the Boys in Blue defeated Minnesota at Yankee Stadium to make it four victories in a row, tying the club record set the previous summer.
New England have proved to be tricky opponents in recent meetings, as evidenced in the 2-1 defeat there in October last year.
With the plastic pitch and the Revs’ strong home record, it promises to be a difficult assignment for the Boys in Blue…
Tough Place to Go
As touched upon above, this has not been an especially happy hunting ground for NYCFC.
In fact, we’ve only won at the Gillette Stadium on one previous occasion from four visits and we’ve been outscored 6-3 in those games.
We’re not alone in finding this corner of New England perilous… The Revs are unbeaten in their last nine in Foxborough, winning eight and drawing once.
They tend to keep things tight, too: They’ve conceded multiple goals just once over the course of those nine matches.
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Ruthless NYCFC
Key to getting out of this one with the three points will be taking chances.
On multiple occasions in 2017, Vieira called for his side to be more ruthless in front of goal and again against LA in the second game of the year, NYCFC could have been out of sight before Jonathan Dos Santos halved the deficit, setting up a nervy finale.
However, against Orlando City last time out, NYCFC scored with their first two shots on target which is the first time this has happened in club history.
Vieira will be hoping his attacking talents are in similarly devastating form at the weekend.
In the Dugouts
Another little sub-narrative in the match is that this marks the first meeting between two Premier League legends.
Brad Friedel and Vieira went toe to toe on numerous occasions throughout their long, distinguished playing careers in England but they will meet for the first time as coaches on Saturday.
Not that it’ll count for anything this weekend, but just for fun, Vieira does have a decent record against the former USMNT goalkeeper, enjoying a 9-1-2 advantage over the Revs head honcho on the field from 12 meetings.
What happens now they’re in the dugouts? You’ll have to tune in on Saturday afternoon to find out…
