New York City Football Club are back on home soil on Saturday evening as they welcome the New England Revolution.
The Boys in Blue return to action in a 7:30pm ET kick-off at Yankee Stadium.
Here are the Keys to the Match, presented by Ford…
Third Time Lucky
New York City FC have picked up two points from their last two outings.
Nick Cushing and his players felt they were unlucky not to claim all three points against Inter Miami CF and Atlanta United, and the hope will now be that it’s a case of third time lucky against New England Revolution.
Although the group is frustrated they can certainly channel that as motivation to pull together and once again push for all three points, just as Keaton Parks asserted after the game against Atlanta.
“We have a good team it’s as simple as that,” Parks said on Saturday. “We’re struggling to get results right now and that is something we need to work on – that’s the game of football – but we have a good team and we know it.
“It’s an exciting opportunity [against New England]. Everyone knows we’ve had a frustrating streak of games but I think we’ve bounced back each week. We come out and play a hard game. Nobody is hanging their heads. We’re going to come out next week and try to get a win.”
History
Saturday’s clash will be the 26th meeting between New York City FC and the New England Revolution.
The first was City’s historic home opener back in 2015, a game New York won by 2-0 thanks to a late strike from Patrick Mullins. The Revs were also the opposition when City enjoyed their historic run to a first MLS Cup in 2021. The contest was a classic, with penalties required after a pulsating 2-2 draw was played out across 120 energy sapping minutes.
Of the 25 previous meetings, New England have claimed ten wins to City’s eight. The fixture has seen 65 goals scored, with City claiming 31 and the Revs 34.
Last season the two teams played out a pair of draws during the MLS Regular Season and New York will hope that isn’t the case on Saturday as they chase all three points.
Playmaker Duel
Last time out in MLS New England secured a narrow victory against Charlotte FC.
A single goal from Carles Gil was enough to push the Revs past Charlotte for their first league win of the season. The Spaniard has managed double figures for goals or assists in all but one of his previous five MLS seasons. Saturday was his third goal of the season, tying him with City’s Santiago Rodríguez.
The Uruguayan celebrated winning the Etihad Player of the Month for March this week, and is already closing in on his goal tally from last season after only seven games. Santi will be a vital part of Saturday’s clash, as will Gil for New England. The game may be decided by which team can involve their number ten the most and also which number ten can stamp their influence on the contest most.
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