New England Revolution vs. Seattle Sounders FC | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

New England Revolution vs. Seattle Sounders FC
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 19
Gillette Stadium — Foxborough
July 7 - 7:30 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

Unbeaten in their last six, the New England Revolution play the second of three straight games at the friendly confines of Gillette Stadium against a Seattle Sounders FC side that has won just two of eight games away from CenturyLink Field.

The Revs are coming off a 3-2 home win over D.C. United on Saturday and are a comfortable fifth in the Eastern Conference, while the Sounders picked up a needed three points in a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids Wednesday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

New England Revolution

After consecutive draws, New England (7-4-6) defeated D.C. United, 3-2, to improve to 6-2-2 at Fortress Foxborough this season. Cristian Penilla opened the scoring in the 18th minute and, just after Yamil Asad leveled, Teal Bunbury ensured the Revs would have a halftime lead with a stoppage-time strike.

Asad again equalized, this time from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute, but Penilla returned the favor five minutes later for the PK winner.

“We have a really good character and something really good going on with the squad is we are finding ways to get results,” Brad Friedel said. “First half, as people know, wasn’t the best performance after we scored our goal, but in the second half I thought we were again the better team, creating more chances and it was really good to come out with the three points.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: M - Isaac Angking (illness), D - Chris Tierney (torn right ACL), F - Femi Hollinger-Janzen (dislocated elbow)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Matt Turner — Andrew Farrell, Antonio Delamea, Jalil Anibaba, Claude Dielna — Luis Caicedo, Wilfried Zahibo — Krisztian Nemeth, Diego Fagundez, Cristian Penilla — Teal Bunbury

Seattle Sounders FC

Seattle (4-9-3) bounced back from a stinging home defeat to the Portland Timbers to defeat the Rapids, 2-1, on Wednesday night. It was the second straight year the Sounders won at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on the Fourth of July.

Will Bruin put the visitors in front in the 19th minute and, after Sam Nicholson leveled for the Rapids, capitalized on a defensive miscue to put the Sounders up for good in the 59th minute. Stefan Frei also came up with a magnificent late save to rob Shkelzen Gashi of the equalizer.

“We’re going to enjoy this moment first and then I’ll look at the standings tomorrow because I’m sure we crept up a little bit, but we still have a long ways to go,” Brian Schmetzer said after the match. “I’m so proud of the players effort because they never quit and the team followed the game plan so all credit to them. They worked hard tonight and they deserve the three points.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Osvaldo Alonso, M - Cristian Roldan
International duty: M - Gustav Svensson
Injury Report: OUT: F - Jordan Morris (torn ACL), M - Handwalla Bwana (right midfoot sprain); QUESTIONABLE: D - Kelvin Leerdam (right hamstring strain), F - Felix Chenkam (right hamstring strain), GK - Calle Brown (concussion)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Stefan Frei — Jordan McCrary, Kim Kee-hee, Chad Marshall, Waylon Francis — Cristian Roldan, Osvaldo Alonso — Alex Roldan, Nicolas Lodeiro, Magnus Wolff Eikrem — Clint Dempsey

All-Time Series

Overall: New England Revolution 5 wins, 20 goals … Seattle Sounders FC 4 wins, 18 goals … 3 draws
At New England: Revolution 4 wins, 15 goals … Sounders 1 win, 7 goals … 1 draw
Last meeting at New England: New England Revolution 2, Seattle Sounders FC 1 (May 28, 2016)