The Bent Musket predicts: Red Bulls at Revolution

The Revs face yet another top-tier club at Gillette, as rival New York Red Bulls come to town on Saturday. New England hasn’t fared so well against their predecessors, going only 1-2-2 vs NYCFC, FC Dallas, Sporting KC, Columbus, and, most recently, Atlanta United FC on the fake grass.

The Red Bulls are off to a tremendous start, scoring 26 goals and earning 22 points from just 11 matches. They haven’t lost in five straight. However, they are only 3-2 on the road this season.

Who will take the first of the two matches this year between these geographical rivals? Let’s see what The Bent Musket staff thinks:

Seth: Revs 1, RBNY 1

Comment: The Red Bulls are on an impressive run, as they haven’t lost since April 21. That said, Gillette Stadium is an odd place to play. Daniel Royer told reporters midweek that “it’s not an easy place to go.” I expect to see a cagey match that ends in a draw.

Tony: RBNY 1 Revs 0

Comment: Atlanta thoroughly outplayed the Revs midweek and should've probably won. The Red Bulls handled them in Atlanta 3-1. New York is solid this year and dangerous as ever in the attack with Kaku. Their backline isn't bad, either. Not sure how much the Revs have left in their tank.

Sean: Revs 2, RBNY 1

Comment: The Revs were lucky to pick up a point against Atlanta and I think every Revs player knows that. Hopefully, that’ll act for motivation for the Revs to play at their best against one of their rivals in the Red Bulls. The Red Bulls have been on a good run as of late and I think it’s bound to end at Gillette Stadium. It’ll be a hard fought win for the Revs and it may feature some ugly goals that the Revs players need to grind for ultimately to grab the three points.

Jake: Revs 2, RBNY 2

Comment: New England has given us no indication that they are better than the Red Bulls recently and the Revs haven’t been able to close out leads when they’re ahead but did battle back and earn a draw against Atlanta despite being overwhelmed in the second half.

Jesse Marsch is a smart head coach, I expect him to have a solid game plan for this one and realize the Revs have issues dealing with longballs over the fullbacks. The Revs might get out to a decent start, but they’ll have to hold on again for another home point.

Summary:

NE win: 1

NYRB win: 1

Draw: 2

Point allocation: Correct result = 3 Correct score (both) = 2 Correct score (one) = 1

What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below!