The Philadelphia Union is set for a sixth meeting with the New England Revolution in 2020 in the first round of the MLS playoffs on Tuesday night.
The Union is 5-1-0, drawing just the one road match in New England over this quarantine season, and has won four in a row, including the Decision Day victory to secure the Supporters’ Shield.
In the Eastern Conference play-in games, New England won late with a 95th minute Gustavo Bou blast to defeat the Montreal Impact, the Revs’ first playoff win since 2014, while Nashville trounced Inter Miami en route to face Toronto.
While Bruce Arena is a playoff legend, with the most-ever MLS Playoff wins and a 32-12-6 record, he will be up for a challenging one-off game against a Philadelphia Union team that has nine wins in nine home matches this year.
Those odds will likely be more promising given the results of the weekend’s first round games, which saw New England win with a last minute goal, San Jose score a goal beyond the allotted stoppage time but lose on penalties, FC Dallas score late into stoppage time and win on penalties, Orlando win in penalties despite two red cards including one to goalkeeper Pedro Gallesse during the shootout.
The wild nature of these single-elimination playoff matches lends itself to teams playing a more conservative style and as a result, the games tend to be closer contests with neither team happy to concede first.
Philadelphia received a big boost in its hopes to keep New England off the scoresheet, as it was confirmed that MLS 2020 Goalkeeper of the year is eligible to return after a hand injury he received in the 5-0 win over Toronto FC.
While it is true the Union are favorites to win on Tuesday, it should be noted that it would be a questionable move to bet against the Revolution.
New England finally has all three designated players on the field, an uncommon sight with Carles Gil missing most of 2020 with an Achilles injury that was projected to have him miss the entire season, and Gustavo Bou missing time down the stretch of the regular season.
Both Bou and Gil got on the scoresheet in the win over Montreal, giving the Revs momentum ahead of Tuesday’s match, meanwhile Arena’s 32 playoff wins sits much higher than Union head coach Jim Curtin’s one.
A regular season juggernaut is not always primed to continue success in the playoffs, as only seven Supporters’ Shield winners have ever won MLS cup in 25 seasons. Only once has a Supporters’ Shield winner lost in a final, so the chances to even make it are just as low.
So, despite the Union’s win history at home, number one spot in the standings and 2020 success against New England, there are just as many positives for Revs fans to take into this game with a full-strength roster under the leadership of Bruce Arena.
The first meeting between the two came in the first round of the MLS is Back knockout stage, in which Philly won 1-0 off of a 63′ minute Sergio Santos goal on a quick transition. There is plenty of reason to expect this match up to be just as cagey an affair in yet another knockout game.
