New England Revolution vs. Philadelphia Union: Know Thy Enemy After A Hurricane

Tonight the New England Revolution will get set to take on the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Revs are coming off a 17-day break following the postponement of this fixture due to Hurricane Irene two weekends past, while the Union are coming off back-to-back league losses to Salt Lake and Columbus. The last time these two teams met, Philadelphia manhandled New England to the tune of 3-0. Since then, both sides have changed up the rosters a bit, with the addition of Milton Caraglio and Monsef Zerka to the Revs and the loss of Jordan Harvey and Carlos Ruiz for Philly.

New England needs to get after it if they're going to win this one. Philadelphia isn't a renowned offensive team, so there's a chance of victory if the Revs grab a lead. Of course, getting the lead hasn't been New England's problem lately, so if they do end up ahead, the Revs need to do a far better job of holding the advantage. The spotlight will be on Caraglio and Rajko Lekic to produce quickly. Newcomer Zerka is expected to lock down a spot on the right wing, becoming perhaps the wing catalyst the Revs have been looking for all season.

Today's Q&A is with Scott Kessler of The Brotherly Game, SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog. You can find my own answers in a preview of tonight's game over there.

TBM: Last time Philly met the Revs, they annihilated them at Gillette Stadium in what has gone down as one of the more embarrassing defeats in Revolution history. What do you think the secret was to that dismantling, and do you believe the Union have the ability to enact such carnage again? For that matter, do you believe New England to be susceptible to such a shellacking again?

SK: Unfortunately I do believe it's going to happen again. The Union are just that hurting for a win at this point, having gone six straight games without one. This game could be a trap to some people, but in reality the Union locker room has to be filled with pressure, or thoughts about it, because of the team's current playoff predicament. If the Union don't win at home against the worst team in the Eastern Conference, then count them out of the playoffs. As for the secret, it really was New England catching the Union at the wrong time. Carlos Ruiz was in pretty good form, Sheanon Williams had found a nice rhythm offensively and the team overall was jelling throughout the match. Not much more to be said there. Benny Feilhaber's lackluster performance didn't help the Revolution, as well.

TBM: Philadelphia topped the Eastern Conference for a significant chunk of time earlier this season. Now they find themselves in fourth place, six points back of Columbus with a game in hand, and the team's recent form hasn't been encouraging at all. What's changed? Do you think Carlos Ruiz's acrimonious departure has a lot to do with it, especially with only 30 goals scored in 24 matches?

SK: Statistically, no it's not just Ruiz's departure. The team scored 1.14 goals per game while he was in the line up, and through 22 games they had scored 1.11 goals in games played without the Guatemalan striker. It can be said that trading veteran left back Jordan Harvey caused problems as well, but statistically his loss is no greater than Ruiz's loss. Overall it can be chalked up to two things: scheduling and actual quality. The teams the Union have played against of late have been high in quality and in the table. That, plus the fact that the team may only be as good as its record indicates, leads me to believe that maybe people had their expectations falsely increased because of the Union's early season form. The fact is that the Union's current day form may be their true form.

TBM: Give us an under-the-radar player Revolution fans should watch out for in this match. (Your last answer was Keon Daniel).