Coming off a road win on the weekend, Atlanta United is back on the road Wednesday night when it travels to New England. The 5-Stripes defeated CF Montreal 1-0 on Saturday to earn the second road win of the season. It also was the second consecutive clean sheet for Atlanta’s defense. The Revolution are coming off a tough 2-1 road loss at New York Red Bulls. It’s an important match in the Eastern Conference standings as Atlanta can jump New England with a victory. Atlanta sits in fifth place with 35 points, while New England sits in third with 37 points. Wednesday’s meeting will be the second of the season, with the first ending in a dramatic 3-3 draw. Let’s take a closer look at the Tools to the Match presented by The Home Depot against New England Revolution.
Be efficient and clinical in the final third
Road matches are always difficult in MLS. Atlanta picked up its second road win of the season last week at Montreal. Brooks Lennon scored for the second consecutive match and the 5-Stripes scored despite only having three shots on target. Overall this season, Atlanta has shown a very good shot conversion rate and been efficient in front of goal. Atlanta’s attack has scored on 19.4% of its total shots, which is the third-highest rate in MLS. Only Columbus Crew (19.9%) and New England (19.8%) have a better conversion rate ahead of Wednesday’s clash.
If Atlanta can be efficient and clinical in the final third and take advantage of the chances it creates, then another three points could be coming home to the ATL.
Limit Carles Gil’s creativity and effectiveness around the box
One of the main reasons New England is once again one of the top teams in MLS is the play of their captain, Carles Gil. The Spanish attacking midfielder has been one of the best players over the last several years in terms of chance creation and goal contributions. In the earlier meeting this season, Gil scored twice to help New England salvage a point late at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta’s midfield and backline will need to keep an eye on Gil at all times in order to limit his ability to create scoring chances for the dangerous front line.
Bobby Wood is having a resurgence in front of goal in 2023. He’s scored seven goals and added four assists in the 19 matches he has played. His main strike partner is Gustavo Bou who has four goals this season, and 41 goals in 93 career MLS matches for New England. Atlanta’s defense, which has only allowed one shot on target in back-to-back matches, will be tested on Wednesday night.
Display same commitment and desire on defensive end
One thing head coach Gonzalo Pineda and his staff have focused on is being consistent in the commitment and mentality of the team, regardless if Atlanta plays at home or on the road. While it’s difficult to quantify that mentality in a statistical sense, the eye test will tell you that all of Atlanta’s players have shown a willingness and ability to get in between passing lanes, get in front of shots and crosses to block them in recent weeks. Caleb Wiley recorded five interceptions against Montreal, which was a season-high for any Atlanta player. Against Philadelphia Union, the team set a new club record with nine blocked shots, and then followed that up with five more blocks against Montreal.
Atlanta needs to show that same commitment and desire around its own box on Wednesday in order to come home with a positive result against New England.
Fans can tune in nationally on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app on Wednesday at 7:30pm ET when the action kicks off at Gillette Stadium. To hear the action on radio, tune into Sports Radio 92.9 The Game (English) or La Mejor – AM 1600 (Spanish).
