2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 17
New York City FC vs. New England Revolution
Yankee Stadium – Bronx
October 7 – 8:15 PM ET
STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US
LOCAL TV: NBC Sports Boston, YES
New York City FC are looking to make it a season-best four consecutive victories, but it won't be easy when they take on the New England Revolution at Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon.
NYCFC (8W-6L-2D) are coming off a 4-1 victory over D.C. United, while the Revs (5W-4L-7D) fell at home to Toronto FC 1-0 Wednesday night. This is a definition of a six-pointer, with four points separating the teams in the Eastern Conference table.
This is the third meeting this year with NYCFC winning at Gillette Stadium 2-0 on Sept. 2 and the teams sharing the points from a 0-0 draw in Foxborough Sept. 19.
the sides sharing the points in a 0-0 draw at Audi Field on Sept. 6 in a match the Black-and-Red didn't record a shot over the 90 minutes. .
New York City FC
In their first game at Yankee Stadium this season, NYCFC converted a penalty kick inside the opening five minutes and rode an Ismael Tajouri-Shradi brace to a 4-1 win over struggling D.C. United Wednesday night. The Cityzens have outscored the opposition 11-3 during their current winning streak. Early Thursday morning the club announced Alexandru Mitrita, who has been called up to the Romanian national team, was loaned to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli Saudi FC until Jan. 31, 2022. The deal still requires a completed medical, and Al-Ahli can purchase the 25-year-old outright at the end of the loan.
“Due to Mitri’s personal circumstances during this pandemic, we felt it was the best move for all parties at this time to loan him to Al-Ahli,” NYCFC sporting director David Lee said in a club release. “He’s certainly a player we believe in and has helped us win football matches in the past 18 months. We do not know how long these travel restrictions will last, so from a human perspective, we wanted to respect his wishes to be closer to his family.”
- Updated team roster
- Injury Report:
- OUT: Maxi Moralez (M) - knee injury
- OUT: Gedion Zelalem (M) - knee injury
- OUT: Tayvon Gray (D) - undisclosed injury
- OUT: Heber (F) - ACL injury
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: Maxime Chanot (D), Valentin Castellanos (F)
- International duty: None
New England Revolution
New England coach Bruce Arena doesn't want to hear about litmus tests and measuring sticks when it comes to Toronto FC, which moved to the top spot in the East and in the Supporters' Shield race with a 1-0 win over the Revs Wednesday night. He's concerned about his team being the best version of themselves and he felt it was "criminal" the Revs didn't leave Gillette Stadium with at least one point.
"Big play in the game is the non-call on [Andrew] Farrell ... That's a foul and we have no one to blame but ourselves not converting a penalty kick,” Arena said in his post-match press conference, referring to a shoulder barge by Ayo Akinola leading to the game's lone goal. “Us not walking off the field tonight with at least a point is a crime.”
- Updated team roster
- Injury Report:
- OUT: Luis Caicedo (M) - right knee injury
- OUT: Carles Gil (M) - left Achilles injury
- OUT: Gustavo Bou (F) - undisclosed injury
- Suspended: None
- Suspended after next caution: None
- International duty: None
Series Matchup at NYCFC
- NYCFC: 3 wins, 10 goals
- Revolution: 2 wins, 9 goals
- 2 draws
Officials
- Referee: Armando Villarreal
- Assistant Referees: Brian Dunn, Jose da Silva
- 4th Official: Ismir Pekmic
- VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
