2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 20
Nashville SC vs. New England Revolution
Nissan Stadium – Nashville
October 23 – 8:30 PM ET
STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; on DAZN in Canada
LOCAL TV: NBC Sports Boston, MyTV30
Nashville SC look to stretch a winning streak to three games when they host a New England Revolution side that needs a victory to keep their hopes of a top-four finish in the East alive when the teams clash in the Music City Friday night.
Nashville SC (6W-6L-6D) are coming off a comprehensive 3-0 win over FC Dallas and are eighth in the East, just four points behind the fifth-place Revolution (7W-5L-7D), who are looking to bounce back from a hard-fought 2-1 home loss to the Philadelphia Union.
This is the second all-time meeting with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 3. Joe Willis made five saves in the draw.
Nashville SC
Nashville SC's dominance over FC Dallas continued Tuesday night with a 3-0 victory at Nissan Stadium. The expansion side is now 2W-0L-1D in three matches this season and have yet to concede a goal. After Randall Leal opened the scoring in the 19th minute, Designated Player Jhonder Cadiz scored his first MLS goal in the 73rd minute and Daniel Rios tacked on an insurance goal two minutes from time. made his debut with a 20-minute substitute appearance.
On Wednesday, Nashville SC acquired 21-year-old winger Handwalla Bwana from the Sounders, sending Jimmy Medranda as well as $225,000 in General Allocation Money to Seattle in exchange. The Sounders could receive an additional $25,000 in GAM if incentives are met.
“Handwalla is one of the exciting young attacking prospects in the league, and we feel very fortunate to be able to add him to our group,” Nashville GM Mike Jacobs said in a club statement. “His ability to threaten defenses both on and off the ball makes him a constant attacking presence, and his work rate on both sides of the ball make him a menace to play against.”
- Updated team roster
- Injury Report:
- OUT: Ken Tribbett (D) - calf injury
- OUT: David Accam (M) - undisclosed injury
- OUT: Dom Badji (M) - undisclosed injury
- OUT: Hany Mukhtar (M) - undisclosed injury
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: None
- International duty: None
New England Revolution
The Revs staged a furious rally in the second half, pulled within a goal on a Tajon Buchanan goal and had a Buchanan equalizer called off due to offside as New England suffered a third loss to the Union in four meetings this year.
"You don’t need me to analyze the referee," Bruce Arena said after the match. "I think anybody who watched the game could make an assessment on that. I think the difference in the game was [Andre] Blake. Blake made a couple outstanding saves. The [Teal] Bunbury header and Lee Nguyen’s free kick – those are two outstanding saves. That would’ve got us a point in the game. Again, I said the own goal was big and we could’ve done better on their second goal, for sure.”
On Wednesday, the Revs announced winger Cristian Penilla underwent successful surgery to repair a left foot fracture on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the regular season. The 29-year-old Ecuador international suffered the injury during the Revs' 2-1 win over New York City FC on Oct. 11, and is expected to need 2-3 months to recover from the injury.
- Updated team roster
- Injury Report:
- OUT: Luis Caicedo (M) - right knee injury
- OUT: Cristian Penilla (F) - left foot fracture
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: Matt Polster (M)
- International duty: None
Series Matchup at Nashville SC
- This is the first all-time meeting between Nashville SC and FC Dallas at Nissan Stadium. The teams played to a 0-0 draw at Gillette Stadium Oct. 3.
Officials
- Referee: Robert Sibiga
- Assistant Referees: Brian Poeschel, Brooke Mayo
- 4th Official: Tori Penso
- VAR: David Gantar
