VANCOUVER, B.C - The Whitecaps are in New England this weekend for a Saturday afternoon match against the beleaguered New England Revolution. Vancouver is coming off a disappointing 1-1 draw away to Chivas USA after embarrassing the New York Red Bulls on opening day. Carl Robinson's squad is looking to bounce back against a Revs team that has yet to score a goal this season.
Jay Heaps guided his team to third in the MLS Eastern Conference last season after surprising many opponents with their upstart play and stingy defense. New England has not carried over that success in 2014. The Revolution were destroyed 4-0 in Houston, and last week they fell 1-0 to Philadelphia. Diego Fagundez, Kelyn Rowe and new addition Teal Bunbury have yet to get going.
New England have three former Vancouver Whitecaps on their current roster. Daigo Kobayashi, and Brad Knighton both played for Vancouver last season and Lee Nguyen had a cup of coffee with Vancouver before being waived in 2012. Knighton has yet to earn any minutes for his new team, while Kobayashi started the opener and came off the bench in the Revs loss to the Union. Lee Nguyen played 90' minutes against Philadelphia, and did not play in Houston.
One player who won't be able to see some familiar faces before or after this match is Vancouver captain Jay DeMerit. Carl Robinson has chosen to rest his skipper as Vancouver travels to the east coast. DeMerit played 90 minutes in both Whitecaps matches, and does not currently have any injury or ailment.
The Whitecaps organization is being cautious with their 34 year-old face of the franchise as they don't want him getting banged up before a long and lengthy MLS campaign. Jay DeMerit spoke highly of Whitecaps rookie centre-back Christian Dean who made his debut against Chivas USA as a second half substitution. With Johnny Leveron just getting over a concussion, Dean is a candidate to start on Saturday.
"Christian's impressed everyone since he's been here with his physicality, his athleticism, and now it's about learning the game. It was nice to have him get some minutes and get his MLS debut, so more power to the kid and hopefully he can continue to get better everyday."
Russell Teibert appears to be match fit heading into this contest. The Canadian international did not play against Chivas USA due to a hamstring injury. The Whitecaps noticeably missed Teibert against Chivas as they looked lost trying to get their offense going. Teibert was included in the roster that headed to New England on Thursday morning, and Carl Robinson spoke highly about Teibert after the Caps final training session in Vancouver this week.
"Yeah he's sporting a new haircut today so I think that might tell me that he's available. He looks quite bright out there and he is one of a number of players pushing for a start."
New England looks like an unstable team without hulking and sulking centre-back Jose Gonçalves.
After having his loan option picked up by New England following the 2013 season, the Lisbon, Portugal native, has decided to holdout and withdraw his services. Gonçalves started and played 90' away to Houston but he was not on the roster for the match in Philadelphia. The 2013 MLS Defender of the Year and is hoping that he will earn a pay hike if he continues to holdout. The Revs don't seem interested in upping his salary to a Omar Gonzalez type of level and as a result the Revs skipper has chosen to sit and home and not play.
Vancouver will be more than happy to play New England without Jose Gonçalves in the lineup. The Whitecaps took advantage of a New York team that rested Thierry Henry, and Jameison Olave. However the Caps could not expose a Chivas team that had Agustin Pelletieri leave the pitch with a bogus red card in the 12'. Vancouver was read the riot act after that underwhelming showing, and there is no reason not to think they won't add to the Revs woes.
Gillette Stadium has become a stadium of horrors for most visiting teams and many sports enthusiasts associate that feat with the New England Patriots, and Tom Brady. However the Revs are no slouch of their own when playing at home. The New England Revolution are 6-0-1 in their last batch of home openers. The Revs are also 2-0-0 when they've played the Vancouver Whitecaps in cavernous Gillette Stadium. In their lone match last season both teams played a thrilling 4-3 match in Vancouver with the Caps prevailing thanks to a Kenny Miller brace.
The Vancouver Whitecaps could just be what the New England Revolution are looking forward to. A hungry, desperate, and winless team is something no opponent wants to go down to. The shambolic artificial Gillette Stadium turf should provide an entertaining back and forth match with high-flying action and goals for yes.... both teams!!
My Prediction: Vancouver Whitecaps 2 New England Revolution 2
Notes: Andy O'Brien has recovered from a thigh niggle and has made the trip to New England.
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