Major League Soccer returns this weekend with a full slate of fixtures as we dive into yet another set of high profile clashes. We’re still in the early stages of the campaign but we’re starting to get a feel for how a few teams are approaching the season, even though there’s still a long way to go. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what should be a fun game between New England Revolution and Charlotte FC.
New England Form GuideAt one point, it seemed as if New England Revolution would be one of the highest ranked teams in the Eastern Conference - and perhaps the entire league. Unfortunately for them, they somewhat ran out of steam down the stretch, eventually finishing 5th. In the first round of the playoffs, they were quickly dispatched in consecutive games by Philadelphia.
The new season hasn’t exactly gone to plan for New England. They lost four on the bounce to DC United, Toronto, Atlanta and Cincinnati. Their most recent encounter came at home to Chicago, and they did pick up a 1-1 draw to stop the rot for the time being.
Charlotte Form GuideAs an expansion team, it’s hard for fans to expect all too much from Charlotte in their first few years of existence. It’s all about establishing themselves and when you consider that they probably don’t have the same kind of financial platform as other newcomers to the league, it becomes clear why they’re struggling. Still, they aren’t the worst team in the East, and they can often be enjoyable to watch.
Charlotte won their opener 1-0 against New York but it took a while for them to get their second triumph. They drew 1-1 with Vancouver before losses to Toronto and Nashville, then defeated Columbus 2-0 in a bit of a shocker before a tense 1-1 draw at home to Cincinnati.
Match PredictionNeither of these sides have been setting the world on fire so far this season and we still think they’ve got a lot of work to do before getting to the point where they’ll feel most comfortable. This still promises to be an intriguing game and in terms of a prediction, we’re going for a draw.
