Coming off a disappointing home loss to the New York Red Bulls, Atlanta United (8-3-1) have a chance to bounce back and widen their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference Wednesday as they head North to face the New England Revolution (5-4-3). The Five Stripes were 7-0 winners against the Revolution last year, but were frustrated on the road with a 0-0 in Foxborough the last time the two teams met. Make sure to tune in Wednesday night on Fox Sports South at 7:30 p.m. EST to catch every minute.
Ahead of this Wednesday’s game, we broke down the Tools to the Match presented by The Home Depot:
Focus on Fagundez
The arrival of manager Brad Friedel this year meant the surprise departure of longtime Revolution star Lee Nguyen, who was an MLS MVP candidate in the middle of the park for New England just a couple seasons ago. That creative role now belongs to New England Homegrown signing and U.S. international Diego Fagundez, who is thriving with the responsibility of providing the main creative spark in the middle of the park. The Uruguayan-born midfielder will be looking to combine with fellow U.S. Men’s National Team members past and present in Juan Agudelo, Kellyn Rowe and Teal Bunbury, and has the skill to play the killer pass to open up any defense. This will be the main responsibility for Atlanta United’s destroyers in the middle, particularly Jeff Larentowicz, as the Five Stripes look to limit his time on the ball and disrupt the Revs’ rhythm.
Stop the Scorers
The Revolution have quietly put together one of the fiercest one-two punches in Major League Soccer in Teal Bunbury and Cristian Penilla, who have combined for eleven goals for New England so far this year. Bunbury, an MLS veteran, has been promoted from last season’s substitute role and is flourishing as a starter, while Penilla, a newcomer to the league, has made a splash both on the wing and as a second striker next to Bunbury up top. It was Penilla’s cross that forced an own goal to take the lead against the Revolution this past weekend, while he showed off his impressive strength and speed to hold off a defender and slot home the second. And Bunbury put his clever runs and finishing on display for the final goal of the match, poking home an inch-perfect cross from Fagundez. It’s a potent pair that compliments each other well, and stopping that main attacking duo in a great run of form will be the main challenge in slowing down the Revolution.
Cross up the Defense
While New England’s impressive attack was on full show this weekend, so was the inconsistency of their defensive unit that conceded three goals –– giving up the lead twice –– to have to settle for a draw. All three came off crosses, with smart runs from Vancouver attackers leaving them with wide open chances at goal. Josef Martinez is one of the smartest players in the league with that final run in the box to get on the end of crosses from players like Julian Gressel out wide on the wing, and it could be a potent weapon against a team that has given up ten goals in their last four matches.
Follow the Match:
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST, with the match set to be broadcast on Fox Sports South and streamed on Fox Sports GO. You can listen to the game on the Atlanta United app or through one of our radio partners: 92.9 The Game or, for Spanish-speaking listeners, La Mejor Atlanta. Click here for a full rundown of how to follow along with the game.
