FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England kick off the most frantic week of their campaign by hosting the Portland Timbers on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium (7 pm ET, Direct Kick, MatchDay Live).
Portland's visit marks the start of a hectic stretch that also includes a cross-continent trip for Wednesday's match in Vancouver and a home game against Real Salt Lake next Saturday.
The crowded itinerary increases New England's need to procure all three points against Portland in order to sustain the momentum generated by a pair of positive results to start the campaign.
“It's vital for us,” Revolution midfielder Pat Phelan told MLSsoccer.com on Friday. “You have to get points at home in this league. You can't put yourself in a situation where you have to get points on the road. Vancouver's going to be a tough game, and then we have a quick turnaround for Salt Lake. It's almost a must-win.”
New England have compiled a lengthy record of success against expansion teams – the Revs are 5-0-2 in their first meetings against expansion sides since 2005 – but continued injury problems will force Revs coach Steve Nicol to alter his starting XI again and could place that sterling record in doubt.
Franco Coria will join Ousmane Dabo (quadriceps) on the sidelines after he departed last Saturday's 2-1 win over D.C. United with a left hamstring strain. Coria and Dabo jogged around the Gillette Stadium field while their teammates trained on Friday morning, but Nicol confirmed that both players will not feature against the Timbers.
Nicol looks set to hand Ryan Cochrane a start against his hometown club after the Portland, Ore., native climbed off the bench to partner A.J. Soares when Coria limped off against United.
[inline_node:327747]Marko Perovic will likely make it a trio of Revolution starters watching from the stands as he continues to recover from a left hamstring strain. Perović participated in a scrimmage with his teammates on Friday morning, but Nicol said he would likely omit the Serbian midfielder from his squad.
“He was out there this morning, but he was basically taking it easy,” Nicol said. “He's not ready to go full throttle.”
Although Coria, Dabo and Perović all appear likely to miss out, Nicol will have Matt Reis (right adductor strain) available and could select Kenny Mansally (Gambian national team duty) for the squad upon his expected return to the Boston area tonight.
While the Revs sort through their own selection issues, they must also weigh the challenges presented by a Timbers side that has stumbled in its first two MLS matches.
Despite the early wobbles at the back (five goals conceded in two games) and the lack of punch up front (one goal in two matches), the Timbers enter the match with a bit more confidence after securing their first win as a MLS franchise by defeating Chivas USA 2-0 in a US Open Cup play-in match on Tuesday night.
The victory over the Rojiblancos makes Portland a more dangerous foe, according to Phelan.
“We've been in the situation that they are in – maybe teams were underestimating us a little bit,” Phelan said. “They picked up a good midweek win. They've got a lot of pressure, a lot of support, they've got some fans coming out and they're going to want to win.”
In order to secure all three points, the Revs must address the constant threat posed by Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza and ignore the impending fixture crunch to focus solely on the task at hand, according to Nicol.
“When you've got someone like Cooper up front, you have to be on his tail for 90 minutes,” Nicol said. “Otherwise, you fall asleep and the ball is in the back of your net.”
