The Columbus Crew faces a familiar foe in fellow founding franchise New England Revolution on Saturday evening in Foxborough. In addition to the long history between these two clubs, there’s an added bit of intrigue this Saturday as the Crew faces former boss Caleb Porter for the first time since he was relieved of his duties in 2022.

Porter, who is in his first year in New England, is beginning to turn the Revs season around after an abysmal start. The Revs have won 4 matches in a row and seem to have finally found their footing in MLS regular season play. The Crew will be looking to continue their habit of winning road games and make it six wins out of their last seven in league play. It will be easier said than done for the Crew as this will mark their first match without Aidan Morris who has officially been sold to Middlesbrough in the English Championship. The Crew will need to fill a Morris-sized hole in the midfield while continuing to try and push up the Eastern Conference table. 

New England Revolution at a Glance:

Record: 6-1-10, 19 points

League Form: W-W-W-W-L

Leading Scorer: Giacomo Verona, Carles Gil (5)

Assist Leader: Carles Gil (3)

Player to Watch: Carles Gil 

Gil is one of the most underrated players in the MLS. Granted, there are some huge names in the league now, but Gil more than holds his own in terms of talent and impact on the field. The 2021 MLS MVP still possesses the ability to take over any match, even at 31 years-old.

Simply put, Gil is a production machine for the Revs. With 42 goals and 56 assists 171 matches, Gil’s production in front of goal is some of the best in the league. Gil has the perfect combination of technical ability with his ball striking and passing ability, coupled with his vision and understanding of the game. Gil is given the freedom to float in the half-spaces looking to hurt the opposition every time the Revs have the ball. Look for the Crew to be marking Gil closely on Saturday. 

How the New England Revolution play: 

This Revs team will look very similar tactically to the Columbus Crew from 2019-2022. Of course, there are a few changes and tweaks, but the same pillars of play are there. It’s easy for Crew fans to think of how this style may have been frustrating over his time in Columbus, but it’s the same style that won the league in 2020. When it’s clicking, it’s very hard to stop, and the Revs have it clicking right now.

Caleb Porter loves to set his sides up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It’s a safe bet that this is the formation the Crew will see on paper Saturday. However, there are lots of different rotations and interchanges that the Revolution will use when in possession of the ball. Most notably, the Revs will look to push their outside backs high and wide whenever possible. Similar to how the Crew uses their wingback, this gives them Revs width and height in their in-possession shape. When the outside backs move up, the wingers will usually move inside into the half spaces on either side of the midfield channel. At times, the wingers will push up against the backline as well.

New England’s wingers did this quite a bit last week against a back three, so it’s something the Crew should be aware of. While the outside backs, strikers, and wingers look to take up higher positions, the Revs central midfielders have the freedom to drop into pockets of space to get on the ball and try and break down they’re opponents. It should be noted that the principles of play are very similar to what Porter did in Columbus, but the attacking movement appears to be much more fluid. 

Defensively, Caleb Porter almost always defended in a 4-4-2 in Columbus, and he certainly seems to prefer that shape whenever possible. However, last week against a back three, the Revs held true to a 4-2-3-1 shape. This allows the Revs to use their wingers to apply pressure to the back three while maintaining solid numbers in central midfield. This is something to watch for the Crew Saturday. Another thing to look out for if you’re a Columbus fan is how high the Revs defensive line of pressure is. In the past, Porter has preferred to defend in more of a mid-block, however recently the line of pressure has been moved up significantly. Will Porter look to apply pressure to the Crew backline? Or does he respect them enough in possession to drop a bit deeper? It will be interesting to find out Saturday.

How the Crew can win:

The Crew can continue to add valuable points in the “dog days” of the MLS season. The Revolution are as hot as they come in MLS play right now and there are several things the Crew will need to do well in order to take all three points. 

1. Find the Free Man in Build Up: No matter what shape the Revs defend in, the Crew will likely either have a natural numerical advantage or rotate players positionally to create a numerical advantage. Simply put, the Crew needs to find these free players quickly and often when building their attacks. These players also need to recognize that they are the free players and kickstart attacks when they receive the ball.
2. Finish Opportunities: The Revs have a bit of a leaky defense with 1.8 goals allowed per game. On top of this, they’ve only held three clean sheets all season. It’s a safe bet that the Crew will have chances to score on Saturday, they need to take these chances. 
3. Score First: This one is pretty self-explanatory. The Crew haven’t lost when scoring first this year. The Crew are a hard team to beat already, doubly so when they have the lead.