New England Revolution and Philadelphia Union face off at the Gillette Stadium on Sunday in round 14 of the 2021-22 Major League Soccer season.
The sides head into this one off the back of contrasting results last time out, and the game promises to be an absorbing affair.
Match preview
Philadelphia Union ended a run of seven games across all competitions without a victory by beating Portland Timbers 2-0 on Monday.
Goals in either half from Daniel Gazdag and Sergio Santos secured a well-deserved three points for Jim Curtin's men at the Providence Park.
As a result, the Union have now reclaimed leadership of the Eastern Conference, one point above New York City FC albeit having played a game more.
Next up is a clash versus an opposing side who have enjoyed a solid run in this fixture of late, winning three of the last four encounters between the teams.
Having picked up their first away victory in five outings last time out, Sunday's visitors now set out to record consecutive triumphs on the road for the first time since in over two months.
New England Revolution have been dumped out from the US Open Cup following a 1-0 defeat against New York City at the Yankee Stadium on Thursday.
The sides could not be separated after 90 minutes and the tie went to extra time, where Santiago Rodriguez grabbed the only goal of the contest.
Prior to that, Bruce Arena's men claimed a 3-2 victory over FC Cincinnati, which leaves them ninth in the Eastern Conference, one point adrift of the last playoff spot with a game in hand.
Unbeaten in their last four home games which have yielded three wins and a draw, Sunday's hosts will back themselves to come out on top and continue their recent dominance over the away side.
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Team News
Philadelphia's Julian Carranza made his return to action last time out, and the 22-year-old is expected to feature this weekend.
Daniel Gazdag recently notched up his 10th direct goal contribution of the season in just 13 outings, making him one to keep an eye on.
Meanwhile, Mikael Uhre remains unavailable for the visitors through a foot injury which has seen him miss five straight games.
Midfielder Sebastian Lletget is a doubt for New England after he sat out his side's cup defeat due to a minor muscle injury.
This could see Gustavo Bou retain his place in the starting XI despite the Argentine only just returning from a lengthy injury layoff.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Turner; Jones, Gonzalez, Farrell, Bye; McNamara, Kaptoum; Rivera, Gil, Bou; Buksa
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Wagner, Elliott, Glesnes, Harriel; Flach, Martinez, Bedoya; Gazdag, Santos, Carranza
We say: New England Revolution 1-2 Philadelphia Union
The teams have had little problem finding the back of the net so far, so we expect goals at both ends in this one. That said, the visitors boast a significantly superior defence, and we are backing them to emerge triumphant, albeit by only a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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