New England Revolution vs FC Cincinnati Prediction, Preview and Odds - 8/21/21
New England Revolution vs FC Cincinnati
The New England Revolution is coming off a 3-2 victory on Wednesday over DC United. Tommy McNamara and Tajon Buchanan scored goals for the Revolution over a four-minute span during the second half. DeJuan Jones scored a late goal for New England that proved to be the difference. Arnor Traustason was issued a pair of yellow cards and subsequently a red and will not be available on Saturday. Luis Caicedo and Carles Gil will not play for New England on Saturday.
FC Cincinnati battled at home to a 0-0 draw with Montreal on Wednesday. FC Cincinnati is winless at home this season with three draws and five losses in eight MLS fixtures. FC Cincinnati is 0-2-7 in the last nine matches overall. Cincinnati midfielder Alvaro Barreal had a free kick late in the second half but the Montreal defensive wall blocked it and the match ended with both clubs sharing spoils. Calvin Harris, Zico Bailey and Maikel van der Werff are out injured for Cincinnati.
New England running away with East
The New England Revolution are first in the MLS Eastern Conference standings at 14-4-3 with 46 points and a +15 goal difference. New England is unbeaten in each of its last eight matches and the Revolution are 14 points clear of second-place Nashville although New England has played one more match than Nashville. New England has three more victories than any other club in the MLS and has scored 40 goals which is 6 more than any other club.
Gustavo Bou has been New England’s scoring machine with a team-high 12 goals, while Adam Buksa has scored 8 and Tajon Buchanan five. Carles Gil, who is out injured, is the leader in assists with 11, while DeJuan Jones and Arnor Traustason (out due to red card) each have four assists. Matt Turner has appeared in 16 matches in goal for New England and allowed only 18 goals while posting 6 clean sheets.
Cincinnati sinking quickly
Cincinnati is next to last in the Eastern Conference standings of the MLS with a record of 3-8-7, 17 points and a -12 goal difference. Cincinnati is winless in each of its last 9 matches in the MLS. Cincinnati's last victory was a 2-0 win on the road against Toronto on June 26. FC Cincinnati has scored just two goals in its last six matches played while allowing five goals over that same stretch and playing to 0-0 draws in three of the six.
The leading goal scorers for FC Cincinnati are Luciano Acosta and Brenner with four each, while Alvaro Barreal has scored three. Ronald Matarrita and Acosta each have three assists to lead FC Cincinnati and three teammates have two assists each. Przemyslaw Tyton was in goal for Cincinnati against Montreal and in three starts and one substitution this season has allowed five goals.
Pick: New England Revolution -263
New England is running away with the MLS Eastern Conference title as the Revolution are 14 points clear of second-place Nashville. New England is a scoring machine with 40 goals in its 21 MLS fixtures thus far for an average of 1.90 goals per match. The New England back line has also held its own allowing only 25 goals this season for an average of 1.19 goals per match. FC Cincinnati is a polar opposite as the club is allowing an average of 1.67 goals per match while scoring an average of only 1.00 goals per match. Cincinnati has been held scoreless in four the last five matches
Total: Over
Although Cincinnati is scoring an average of only 1.00 goals per match, New England makes up for that with a scoring average of 1.90 goals per match. The total has finished over the 2.5 goals per match threshold in each of New England's last 3 and in 6 of the Revolution’s last 7
