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Philadelphia Union vs. New England Revolution Match Preview

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The Revs are coming!  The Revs are coming!  This Saturday marks the eighth meeting between the Union and the New England Revolution, a team Philadelphia has had tons of success against.  How much success?  At the risk of jinxing the club this weekend, the U have never lost to the Revs, and are 4-0-3 all-time.  With both teams coming off big wins last weekend, the Union will look to keep their undefeated streak alive, and earn three early, but important points.

“The goal is to turn this place [PPL Park] back into the fortress it was the first one or two years,” said Jack McInerney during the Union’s weekly press conference.  But the Union know this is a much different New England side than they have seen in years past.  As Jay Heeps enters his second year as the Revolution’s head coach, he has also made some key additions to his squad.

With the addition of Honduran International Jerry Bengtson, who got the game winning goal against Chicago last week, and players like Donnie Smith and Lee Nguyen on the wings to help him out, this is a New England side that has a much larger focus on attack than ever before.

Philadelphia is coming off a win as well, and having faced both the elements and delay while in Denver, these obstacles have motivated the team in a big way.  With the undefeated streak on the line, look for Manager John Hackworth to to come out firing on all cylinders.  Expect Sebastien Le Toux and Jack McInerney to start up front again.  Le Toux was largely responsible for the Union’s massive comeback at home against the Revs back home in 2011.  If Hackworth wants to repeat history and win this time, it would come as no surprise to see Roger Torres in the XI, who scored the first goal of that miraculous comeback.

The Union are set to kick off against the Revolution this Saturday at 5:00 p.m. ET.  If you can’t make the game (there are plenty of tickets still for sale), you can catch the match on The Comcast Network.  Philly Sports Live will be live on hand at PPL Park all day, pre-gaming the match Vuvuzela: The World Soccer Show on AM 860 WWDB.  Look for our post game wrap up following Saturday’s result.