New England Revolution vs. FC Dallas | 2018 MLS Match Preview

New England Revolution vs. FC Dallas
2018 MLS Regular Season – Week 7
Gillette Stadium – Foxborough
7:30 pm ET – April 14, 2018
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It’s unclear if it’s the Brad Friedel effect or “Fortress Foxboro,” but either way the New England Revolution are rolling with three wins in four straight matches without a loss. They face an FC Dallas side that is one of two teams in MLS — NYCFC the other — without a loss in 2018, though they have just one win in four matches.

New England Revolution   

The Revs’ lone loss this season came in Week 1, when they were down to 10 men after 24 minutes and finished with nine in a 2-0 defeat at Philadelphia. They were on the other end of an early sending off last Friday when Montreal’s Saphir Taider was given his marching orders in the 14th minute.

New England capitalized in a big way with Teal Bunbury, Andrew Farrell, Diego Fagundez and Wilfried Zahibo finding the back of the net in a comfortable 4-0 rout. Zahibo and Fagundez were named to the MLS Team of the Week presented by Audi for Week 6.

According to Friedel, it was a deserved honor for Zahibo, who is showing his skill the more comfortable he feels in his new surroundings.

“Wilfried’s an outstanding player, and it’s good that he’s starting to show that in MLS,” Friedel said. “He’s going to get better and better. He’s still a young player. He works very, very hard, and it’s not surprising to us that he’s doing well.”

• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution: None
• International duty: None
• Injury Report: OUT: M – Isaac Angking (illness)

Projected Starting XI
(4-1–4-1, right to left)
GK: Matt Turner — Andrew Farrell, Jalil Anibaba, Claude Dielna, Gabriel Somi — Wilfried Zahibo — Luis Caicedo, Scott Caldwell, Diego Fagundez, Cristian Penilla — Teal Bunbury

FC Dallas      

FC Dallas (1-0-3) had their backs against the wall last Saturday, but Cristian Colman leveled in the 89th minute to secure a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids at Toyota Stadium. That’s where Oscar Pareja’s squad has played all their games in 2018.

But now they hit the road for the first time, and try to get points at a place where the Revs are unbeaten in their last 11, with nine wins during that stretch.

“New England is a team who has won a few games and a couple of them at home. We are going to feel that it is well known that it’s their turf,” Pareja said. “We [are trying] to plan the game and see not just in the lineup but what is the game plan that we can put together in order to get the points that we want.”

• Suspended: None
• Suspended after next caution: None
• International duty: None
• Injury Report: OUT: M – Kellyn Acosta (sports hernia surgery), M – Brandon Servania (compartment syndrome), F – Jesus Ferreira (core muscle repair surgery), M – Paxton Pomykal (right meniscus surgery); QUESTIONABLE: GK – Jesse Gonzalez (right knee)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Jimmy Maurer — Reggie Cannon, Matt Hedges, Reto Ziegler, Anton Nedyalkov — Carlos Gruezo, Jacori Hayes — Michael Barrios, Mauro Diaz, Roland Lamah — Maxi Urruti

All-Time Series

• Overall: New England Revolution 23 wins, 68 goals … FC Dallas 17 wins, 59 goals … Ties 3
• At New England: Revolution 12 wins, 39 goals … FC Dallas 7 wins, 29 goals … Ties 1
• Last meeting at New England: New England Revolution 2, FC Dallas 4 (May 21, 2016)

Referees

Referee: Hilartio Grajeda
Assistant Referees: Andrew Bigelow, Jonathan Johnson
4th Official: Mark Geiger
VAR: Caleb Mendez