FIVE KEYS to the game
1 Ackbar defence, AKA ‘It’s a trap!’
The Whitecaps are second overall in the league in getting caught offside, at 2.8 per game. At home, that figure jumps to 4.5, tops in MLS by a mile. The Caps forwards love to constantly maraud and probe the back line for holes to exploit from balls deep in their own end. It may not produce pretty possession soccer, but as the Caps saw themselves against San Jose, all it takes is one splitsecond hesitation by the fullbacks for a goal to materialize. If the Revs try to press, watch for a quick vertical counter.
2 Getting in formation
Russell Teibert didn’t look to pleased a couple of weeks ago, hearing that Yordy Reyna was the team’s most accurate passer. He took it upon himself to regain that title. After leading the team in touches (55) and successful passes (59) against FC Dallas last week, he moved back atop the team’s passing percentage table at 90.3, missing only four passes against the Toros. Teibert will likely get the start alongside Felipe in the central midfield on Saturday, in the 4-4-2 formation that’s been their approach the past four games. Teibert’s Honey Badger defensive play frees Felipe to be more of an offensive facilitator, a role he excelled at in his three seasons with NYRB.
3 Kamara kickstart
Since returning from his groin strain, striker Kei Kamara has done just about everything except score — which he remedied with his ice-cold 100th-minute penalty in the Dallas heat. He’s led the team in aerials won in each of his three subsequent starts — he still leads the league in average and total aerial duels won — and has been the highest-rated player twice. Kamara scored in three of his first four games, but — not including the three he missed to injury — hadn’t scored in nearly 400 minutes before the PK against Houston. It might just jumpstart him ahead of Saturday’s game, his first against his former team, for which he scored 19 goals in 52 games between 2016-18.
4 Road worriers
The Revs have been bad on the road. How bad? As per Matt Pierce of LWOS, since losing the MLS Cup final in 2014, New England has just nine road wins. Only a dramatic, 96th-minute strike from Kelyn Rowe — on an assist, it should be noted, from Kamara — saved the Revs from going winless on the road in 2017, as they downed the Montreal Impact on literally the last touch of their season. New England has won just twice in its past 23 road games, going 2-17-4, dating back to Sept. 26, 2016, and they’ve given up multiple goals in 19 of them.
5 Playing on the front foot
The Whitecaps have trailed in all but four games this season, and one of those was a goalless draw. In fact, since a March 17 game against Atlanta, they’ve held the lead for 100 minutes total in a span of 11 games, and have scored just three first-half goals over that time. It’s a trend they’ll need to turn around if they want to have sustained success.