Inter Miami wrap up their second season in Major League Soccer on Sunday with a chance to pick up their first-ever victory against the New England Revolution when they face them at Gillette Stadium.
The Supporters' Shield winners head into Decision Day unbeaten in 10 consecutive games, with first in the Eastern Conference locked up long ago, while the Herons will not be in the postseason, currently sitting in 11th with 38 points.
Match preview
It has been a spectacular campaign for the Revolution to say the least, but they could still make some more history heading into the playoffs should they be able to avoid defeat for an 11th successive fixture, which if successful would set a new MLS record for the fewest defeats in a regular season, as the Revs have only lost four matches all year.
That would add yet another feather in the cap of New England who have set countless records in 2021, having already overtaken the points-per-game mark of 2.13 set by the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1998, as the Revs are currently averaging 2.21 points per game.
Bruce Arena has seen and done it all as a manager in Major League Soccer, and if his side can win their final match heading into the playoffs, he would surpass Sigi Schmid for the most all-time wins in the regular season.
The quality that the Revolution possess up and down their roster is scary with match-winners at every position, and that has to be discouraging for opposing teams to know that they can do a splendid job of shutting down the top three or four attacking options for this team, but the Revs' fifth and sixth options can also punish you.
It feels like this team have collected just about every record one could think of in the MLS regular season, while also beating a number of their team records, but the trophy that continues to elude them is still up for grabs when the playoffs begin, the MLS Cup.
Their last 10 goals were scored in the second half, dating back to an 86th-minute strike from Gustavo Bou in their 4-1 win over CF Montreal, while they have not lost a home encounter since dropping a 2-1 decision to Toronto on July 7.
A couple of months ago, a season that looked to be headed in the right direction took a turn for the worse for Phil Neville and Inter Miami.
After putting themselves right back in the thick of the postseason race with points in six straight contests from the middle of August until mid-September, they could not maintain that momentum, going on to lose six in a row after that, with many of those losses being lopsided.
Loading up on seasoned veterans who previously featured on prominent European clubs has not helped this team dominate the way that David Beckham and the front office had hoped they would, and as a result they will miss the playoffs for the first time in their history.
It is not just the fact that the Herons have lost their share of games this year which has been disappointing (17), but also the manner of those defeats, conceding three or more goals in seven matches this year and losing eight times by multiple goals, including a 5-0 loss in their only previous encounter with New England.
They have lost five successive road fixtures heading into their regular-season finale, failing to find the back of the net in four of those matches.
Throughout the year, Neville has tried to employ his wing-backs high up the field to pull opposing defences away from striker Gonzalo Higuain, but more often than not, this tactic has not worked as the Herons struggle to move the ball up the field quickly enough, and they are near the bottom of the standings in terms of chances created.
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Team News
Tajon Buchanan scored his eighth of the year in the Revs' victory over the Burgundy Boys, a career-high for him in a single season, Carles Gil led New England with seven chances created in that same fixture as he now has 126 in this campaign, and Adam Buksa assisted on the winning goal while also leading the team in shots with six.
Brandon Bye recorded his 90th MLS career start last Wednesday, Henry Kessler eclipsed 4,000 minutes played for his MLS career and Emmanuel Boateng made his 11th appearance of the year.
Matt Turner set a new club record for wins by a goalkeeper with his 17th of the campaign, while also making five stops for his fifth clean sheet and getting plenty of help from his defenders, namely Andrew Farrell, who had a team-high nine recoveries and two interceptions versus the Rapids.
Leandro Gonzalez Pirez will be suspended for this match for Miami after receiving a caution versus New York in a game that had plenty of fouls, with 30 committed between both teams.
Kieran Gibbs, Victor Ulloa, Ryan Shawcross, Joevin Jones and Ian Fray are all questionable to play on Sunday because of undisclosed injuries.
John McCarthy replaced Nick Marsman in goal after only a half-hour in their defeat to the Boys in Blue, and Marsman may want to remain on the bench for this one seeing as the Revs put five past him earlier this year, in a match where the Dutch keeper faced 11 shots.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Knighton; Bye, Farrell, Bell, Jones; Polster, Caldwell, McNamara; Buksa, Bou, Bunbury
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Figal, Alvarado, Makoun, Shea; Gregore; Matuidi; Robinson, F. Higuain, Morgan; G. Higuain
We say: New England Revolution 2-0 Inter Miami
The score may look a little closer for a while, but if it does, it could be because this is a nothing game for the Revs who have already assured themselves of a first round bye in the postseason, so there is no reason for Arena to play his top players for the entire 90 minutes.
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