“Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by Stephen Mellentine
It’s very early days in the 2021 MLS season but New England Revolution are the impressive early pacesetters. After eight games, the Revs are top of the Eastern Conference and have opened up a three-point gap over Philadelphia Union in second place.
Five wins, two draws and a solitary defeat combined to give coach Bruce Arena’s team that three-point cushion as the sides went into the first international break of the new campaign. It’s a solid start but fans will naturally be wondering if New England can finally go all the way.
Strong Start
The Revs opened their 2021 MLS campaign with a 2-2 draw at Chicago Fire before securing consecutive victories against DC United and Atlanta United. A first defeat of the season followed at Nashville ahead of a 1-1 draw with closest challengers Philadelphia Union.
Since then, Arena’s men have enjoyed a run of three wins from their last three. Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls and defending MLS Cup champions https://www.columbuscrew.com/ have all been despatched to leave The Revs at the very summit of the Eastern Conference.
The obvious question from this point is, can they maintain that position?
Revs Strikeforce
Among those who have enjoyed a bright start to the new campaign is Revolution’s young Polish striker Adam Buksa. A Designated Player who has been brought in outside of the regular salary cap, Buksa has scored four goals in those opening eight matches. The center forward arrived at the Gillette Stadium in 2020 and that recent return is significantly better than his overall scoring ratio so Buksa needs to maintain that form.
Strike partner Gustavo Bou has been relatively subdued by comparison with two goals in six but the Argentine attacker has been a more consistent scorer overall and that’s not the worst start to a new campaign.
Behind the front men, Coach Arena has fielded a settled side with Carles Gil, Matt Polster, Tajon Buchanan and Tommy McNamara each featuring in all eight games of the early Revs campaign. New England look to be positive going forward and the men further up the field are aiming to build on a solid defense.
Tighter at the Back
The back men aren’t exactly a concern at the moment but Bruce Arena will certainly like things to be a bit tighter. Revolution have conceded seven times in those first eight matches and that’s more than Philadelphia Union and Orlando City who are in second and third place respectively.
Arena has also been consistent in this area of the pitch with goalkeeper Matt Knighton an ever present at this early stage of the campaign. Others to have featured in all eight games are Andrew Farrell and Brandon Bye. It’s been a sound start for that defense with small scope for improvement.
The Verdict
They are known as the unluckiest team in Major League Soccer but could this be the year that the New England Revolution finally land some serious silverware? The Revs have been to five MLS Cup finals to date and have lost every single one.
Despite that positive opening, New England aren’t getting too much support among the neutrals. According to sportsbooks linked to https://www.sbo.net/, teams from the west are among the favorites to win the MLS Cup with Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles FC at the very top.
Defending champions Columbus Crew have endured a slow start but they are highly ranked in the East as are Toronto, Orlando City and Philadelphia Union. The markets remain unconvinced but sbo.net will continue to adjust those figures as the season progresses and readers can stay in touch with the league via news and opinion pieces.
If the odds appeal, those readers can look to take their interest a stage further by signing up from a panel of bookmakers, many of whom have welcome offers.
New England Revolution’s strong start to the season means that they are already on course for a place in the playoffs. As Columbus Crew proved last year, finishing at the top of the table is no guarantee of success and the first objective for coach Arena is to make it beyond the regular season.
From there, the tense nature of the playoffs means that the knockout rounds can be less predictable. For now, Revolution simply need to maintain this momentum, finish as high up the table as they can, and take that positivity into the postseason. From there, anything is possible.