New England Revolution vs. Philadelphia Union | 2020 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 20
New England Revolution vs. Philadelphia Union
Gillette Stadium – Foxborough
October 19 – 7:30 PM ET

STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; on DAZN in Canada

LOCAL TV: NBC Sports Boston, PHL17

The New England Revolution are looking to make it three consecutive wins, but it will be a difficult task against a Philadelphia Union side that has lost just once in their last nine games when the Eastern Conference foes meet again Monday night at Gillette Stadium.

The Revs (7W-4L-7D) are coming off back-to-back road wins, including 3-2 over the Montreal Impact at Red Bull Arena, while the Union (10W-3L-5D) rallied to tie D.C. United 2-2 to clinch a berth in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

This is the fourth meeting this season, with the Union claiming a 2-1 victory at Subaru Park on Sept. 12 with Anthony Fontana scoring the brace, including the stoppage time winner. The teams played to a pair of draws, including 0-0 at Gillette Stadium on August 20. The Union beat the Revs 1-0 in the Round of 16 of the MLS is Back Tournament.

New England Revolution

The Revs rotated their squad, but still came away with a third consecutive road win, defeating the Impact 3-2 at Red Bull Arena. Kekuta Manneh and Teal Bunbury staked New England a 2-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes and Adam Buksa maintained the two-goal advantage early in the second half after Amar Sejdic sliced the Montreal deficit in half. Bruce Arena expects to have fresh player Monday and hopes for clear minds as well.

"I think in the three games we’ve played this year, you could argue that Philadelphia has been a little bit better in [attention to detail]. That’s a point of emphasis for our team, is to get these things a little bit better," Arena said in a video conference call. "If we want to beat or compete with the top teams in the league, we have to be paying a lot more attention to detail, whether it’s set pieces or how we play at the end of games, at the end of halves.”

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Luis Caicedo (M) - right knee injury
- OUT: Carles Gil (M) - left Achilles injury
- OUT: Cristian Penilla (F) - undisclosed injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

Philadelphia Union

A thunderous blast by Mark McKenzie three minutes from time ensured the Union a share of the points with D.C. United and a spot in the postseason, just the second team to clinch their berth after Toronto FC did so.

On Friday, the Union officially announced the transfer of Homegrown midfielder Brenden Aaronson to Red Bull Salzburg. The 19-year-old will finish the 2020 MLS season before joining Jesse Marsch's side. Before he goes, though, Aaronson said he'd want nothing more than to get the Union some hardware.

“As a group, we’ve had one goal this year: To win a trophy," Aaronson told reports on a virtual press conference Friday. "This is something I’ve wanted for the club for a long time. It’s really in me to try and win something. I hope you can see it every game, I feel like I come out and want to win something for this club. I give my all for this club, I will continue to give my all for the rest of the season. I promise you that. This club means something special to me. Hopefully we can win something, we have a good chance of doing that.”

While Aaronson will soon be out the door, Philadelphia have welcomed back Jamaican international Cory Burke, who could play a role against the Revs. Center back Jakob Glesnes could be available for selection (concussion protocol) and defensive midfielder Jose Martinez faces a prolonged period out (quarantine) after representing Venezuela on international duty.