UPDATE: Revs head to Utah, Kick off dog days of summer

By: Sabin | July 27th, 2007

Following a 3-3 draw at Gillette Stadium this past Sunday, the New England Revolution (7-3-6) fly out to Utah on Saturday in the hopes of starting their toughest stretch this season with a win against Real Salt Lake (1-8-6). In their last meeting on June 2nd, the two teams played to a nil-nil draw in Foxborough despite the Revs out-shooting RSL 14-2.

They Revs sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with 27 points, however, and hold a two-game advantage over second-place New York Red Bulls who lost to Chivas on Thursday. They won’t consider it much of an advantage, however, as the top five teams in the East are still separated by just three points: New England, New York, Kansas City, Columbus, and D.C. are all in serious contention for the top spot. This is a good weekend for the Revs to increase the spread, however, as there are only four games to be played this weekend, with New York being the only other team out of the top five that will be playing (against Chivas USA on Thursday night).

Looking ahead, the Revs face eight games over the next four weeks, half of which are on the road. They might feel lucky for the away stands, though, as the Revs have the best road record in the MLS (4-2-2), but haven’t been performing up-to-snuff in front of The Fort, according to some of the players’ assessment of the Houston game.

“We have to figure it out. At home, we can’t keep doing this to ourselves,” Taylor Twellman said. “Out of the six ties, we probably should have four wins.”

Analysis
Despite their home-stand concerns, the Revs’ style of play continues to be aggressive and – for lack of a better term – scrappy. With a top-of-the-conference spot on the line, sense of pride, and a busy schedule coming up, the Revs are going to fight hard for the win in Utah. RSL, for their part, will remember holding the Revs to a draw at Gillette and are going to exploit any weaknesses they found for the win at home. What seems on paper to be a bit of a lopsided match, this Saturday’s contest should be a good one. Both teams have a lot to gain in this match, and my guess is we won’t see it end in a draw.

Prediction
The Revs really want to start this four-week period right and are ultimately the better team. Look for them to win by at least two goals.

US Open Cup Quarterfinals
In addition to the seven league matches this month, the Revs play host to the Harrisburg City Islanders on August 8th in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals. One of only three MLS teams to get this far, the Revs are in a good position to make it to the finals. That said, the USL-1 and USL-2 teams this year seem tough and determined, so the Revs won’t be taking the matches lightly, by any means.

Revolution Official Write-up