The 27th Major League Soccer (MLS) season started on February 26 and will end with the MLS Cup Final at the beginning of November. With less than two months of playing there are enough topics to talk about.

The 10th best world soccer league expanded and now, with two new teams, has 28 in total. One of the 10 original MLS teams, New England Revolution had an interesting and mostly successful 2021 regular season. The game was not only interesting to watch but also productive, with a lot of goals and wins.

Their player Carles Gil won the MVP title, while Matt Turner got the Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year award. Although they won the 2021 Supporter Shield for the most points in the league (73), unfortunately, the 2021 season didn’t end too well for them.

According to the current overview, things are not looking any better at the beginning of season 2022.

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The influential factors and consequences

After 6 games played, New England has 1 winning, 1 drawn, and 4 consecutive losses. With a game winning score of 16.7%, they are currently in the 13th position in the Eastern Conference. After playing against Inter Miami CF on April 9 and losing 3:2 it was more than obvious that New England had to reorganize and make some changes.

The main question that both supporters and experts are asking is where the confidence and determination they showed at the beginning of March disappeared. To make things even worse, let’s add that they lost three games in the last few minutes.

Although they’ve had to deal with many injuries and suspensions, coach Bruce Arena refuses to use them as an excuse. However, it’s an important detail especially if the crucial players are unable to play. Against Inter Miami CF, Revs were missing Gustavo Bou due to a leg injury, and Matt Turner who is still recovering from two different foot injuries.

Also, Adam Buksa has a red card suspension earned in the game against New York Red Bulls. So, the team had to play without Bou and Buksa who were the most important attack players in season 2021. According to coach Arena, the absence of the Buksa- Bou-Gil attack combination took its toll on the game and scores as well.

To add more salt to the wound, their best shot-stopping goalkeeper Matt Turner is not just injured but also leaving the team in June to play for Arsenal.

To end this gloomy list, let’s mention that team central defenders Andrew Farrell and Henry Kessler are also injured and unable to play.

Prospects and plans

Although things don’t look particularly bright, Revs are already preparing for the next game. They are playing at home against Charlotte FC on April 16. Based on Betway MLS odds and predictions published by other betting services, New England has a close to 48% winning chance, while Charlotte’s win rate is at 50.54%.

Currently, the moneyline odds for Revs are at -167, and for Charlotte over +400. 

Judging by the team officials’ statements, the New England team’s first task is to decrease the number of individual mistakes and instigate initiatives to achieve more attack diversity and better defense transitions.

As they believe that their team is capable of making much better results, each player’s duty will be to focus on personal development and contribution to creating future games winning opportunities.