Revs have one more tune-up tomorrow night vs POR before things get real. They are currently 1-2-1 in the pre-season. MLS Preseason 2020 MON won their first pre-season game (3-1 vs DCU), before losing 4 in a row (1-0 losses to PHI, ORL and NSH, and a 2-1 loss to USL-C side Tampa Bay). They did manage a 2-2 draw at Saprissa in CCL action, and have the home leg Wednesday Feb 26th.
Carles Gil - @NERevolution captain missing the action. Return?: https://t.co/yv98ghycr7 #MLS #NERevs #LFC #mancityban— Frank Dell'Apa (@frankdellapa) February 20, 2020
People were talking about doing tifo for the Montreal game, and if you want to say "Our Maple Syrup is Better Than Yours" you can probably get under their skin even more if you did it in French: "Notre sirop d'érable est meilleur" (our MS is better)
MATCHDAY GUIDE | New England Revolution at Montreal Impact | February 29, 2020 February 24, 2020 1:35PM EST Elizabeth Pehota
Not having the game on their usual (grass) home field in a cavernous stadium seems like an advantage for the Revs - unless Montreal can summon a big enough gate to fill a good portion of the 66K Stade Olympique. Plus, playing on turf has to help the Revs as well.
Is that 17 degrees in Canadian Beaver Pelts? If so, that's in the low 60s Unfortunately I won't be able to make it up to the Great White North this weekend, but I know the 150 or so Revs fans are going to have a great time!
That's 17F, not C. (Saturday coldest day in Montreal in a 10 day span that is otherwise generally in 40s or 30's...) But - indoor stadium...all is well, at least temperature-wise.
I was on a phone call with colleagues in Germany and someone remarked that it was "15 degrees." It was about that for us too, but we were wearing much heavier coats than they were.
Arena was on 98.5 this afternoon and stated that he does expect Gil back on the field soon (but didn't sound like this weekend).
The IMFC Saprissa game last night was not a pretty thing to watch. But, CONCACAF Champions obligations gets IMFC into a "fixture congestion" right out of the gate. Perhaps to Revs benefit.
I read Montreal as one of the weakest teams in MLS. They're just short of talent across the board, and have lost their best player. Three points for the Revs!
The Limp Act looked sluggish in their CCL game (but went through anyway on away goals), but they didn't play their full strength lineup. I see them as having a ceiling of making the playoffs as a low seen, one and done. If I were them, I'd go all-in on the CCL, since that's a better chance of hardware. If it means losing a few MLS games at the sale of going through to the next round, so be it. First game cobwebs aside, I would be disappointed if we don't get 3 points from this one. If we are as good as many of us think (hope), we need to get the full 3 from away games against the lesser teams.
Injury Report NE: OUT: M - Carles Gil (foot irritation) QUESTIONABLE: M - Luis Caicedo (knee irritation) QUESTIONABLE: D - Antonio Delamea (hamstring strain) QUESTIONABLE: D - Seth Sinovic (hamstring strain) MON OUT: D - Clement Bayiha (groin injury) OUT: D - Rudy Camacho (knee injury) OUT: D - Jukka Raitala (fibula injury)
Montreal lost Ignacio Piatti, and has fixture congestion from CCL. Past Revs teams would use that as an excuse to play less than their full potential. This year's edition should walk away with nothing less than 3 points.