The Portland Timbers are bringing everyone to Foxborough where they face the New England Revolution this Saturday at 4:30PM PT. Right after the match 18 Timbers will head from New England down South to Guyana for their first CONCACAF Champions League match. This trip leads to questions about Portland’s starting XI against a Revs club that has lost five of their last six.
I expect Caleb Porter to field a fairly traditional starting lineup in New England. If Darlington Nagbe is ready, he should start. Having him return from injury only to play on a cricket field sounds like nothing but trouble. This leaves Porter with either Gaston Fernandez or Rodney Wallace to bench. I think this depends largely on who starts up top in NE. Should Adi start, I’d bench Fernandez and keep him to pair with Maxi Urruti in Guyana. Wallace and Adi look like a natural pairing, breaking them up isn’t worth it. My money is on Adi playing in Guyana to disrupt a shaky defense with some strong headers.
Based off the sparse highlight’s of Guyana’s Alpha United versus Club Deportivo Olimpia of Honduras, I’m not so concerned about the back line on Tuesday. That means a return of last week’s shutout-earning combo of Norberto Paparatto and Liam Ridgewell will anchor the defense with Michael Harrington and Danny O’Rourke to their sides.
New England doesn’t look good at all right now. Despite their poor form, they find themselves in a position similar to the Timbers with regards to the MLS Playoff race. The Revs are sitting in the Eastern Conference’s seventh position and are just two points below the fourth place New York Red Bulls. Three points for Portland could mean jumping up to fifth depending on the results for Vancouver and Colorado. Both sides need a win, drawing simply isn’t good enough.
Lee Nguyen leads New England with 8 goals in 2014. Patrick Mullins and Diego Fagundez are tied for the number two spot with 4 each. Nguyen has scored three times in the club’s last 11 matches and the two others haven’t at all. The Revs were held scoreless in six of those and shutout their opponent just once. While Portland can’t relax and expect a win, New England certainly doesn’t look like they should be feared.
Projected Lineups:
Portland Timbers: Donovan Ricketts; Michael Harrington, Liam Ridgewell, Norberto Paparatto, Danny O’Rourke; Will Johnson, Diego Chara; Darlington Nagbe, Gaston Fernandez, Diego Valeri; Maxi Urruti
New England Revolution: Bobby Shuttleworth; Kevin Alston, Jose Concalves, A.J. Soares, Andrew Farrell; Scott Caldwell; Diego Fagundez, Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe, Teal Bunbury; Charlie Davies
(image courtesy of mlssoccer.com)
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