FT: New England Revolution 0-0 Toronto FC - Game thread, preview, how to watch

Live Game Thread

FT: Final whistle blows as the match ends 0-0.

90’ + 3 - Toronto come close to conceding as Vrioni gets on the end of a low cross and puts it wide.

83’ - Arnór Traustason’s first action of the match is blocking a shot from Kerr.

81’ - Petrović saves Insigne’s penalty.

76’ - Penalty for TFC! Kerr wins the penalty after taking a challenge from Matt Polster.

72’ - So close from Insigne! The Italian rips a shot from outside the box, Petrović had to stretch to make the save for a corner.

68’ - Double change for Toronto: Bernardeschi and Jiménez are replaced by Deandre Kerr and Ayo Akinola.

58’ - What a chance for TFC! Bernardeschi unleashes a powerful shot that rattles off the woodwork.

55’ - Revs striker Giacomo Vrioni comes on for Justin Rennicks to make his home debut.

54’ - Solid intervention by Bradley to prevent an opportunity for the Revolution.

46’ - No substitutions for either side to start the second half.

HT - New England Revolution 0-0 Toronto FC.

45’ +1 - Matt Polster left-footed curling shot goes wide of Bono’s goal.

45’ - Big chance for the Reds! Bernardeschi works his way into the box and passes to Insigne, the Neapolitan’s shot was saved by ‘keeper Djordje Petrović.

39’ - Bernardeschi tries the audacious effort from a corner kick. The confidence from the Italian winger is high!

29’ - Positive play going forward from TFC, stringing passes together between the defence and attack.

20’ - Pass from Federico Bernardeschi finds Nelson, his curling shot goes just wide of the post.

19’ - Brandon Bye with a well struck shot, Bono punches it away. Bono comes to collect a Bye cross just seconds later.

10’ - Set piece by Insigne into the box, headed behind for a Toronto corner.

8’ - Carles Gil with a shot from outside the box, bounces before Bono but the ‘keeper makes the easy save.

4’ - Good chance from the Reds, created by Lorenzo Insigne with a cross to the back post to Jesús Jiménez, his header goes over the bar.

3’ - Jayden Nelson with a storming run through the midfield, brought to a halt by the Revs defence.

1’ - And we’re underway!

7:30 pm EST - Don’t forget to put your final scoreline guesses in our prediction league.

7:20 pm EST - All three Italians start their second consecutive game on turf. Captain Michael Bradley has scored at Gillette Stadium before, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary if he finds the back of the net yet again in Foxborough.

7:05 pm EST - The Reds are looking to string back-to-back MLS victories for the second time this season, the only occurrence of this so far was a win against D.C. United on March 19th, followed by victory against NYCFC on April 2nd.

7:00 pm EST - Toronto FC heads to Gillette Stadium for the first time since last year, when they came away with an impressive 3-2 victory on July 7th. Interesting to note that all three goal-scorers that night have since departed the club - Yeferson Soteldo, Kemar Lawrence and Tsubasa Endoh.

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Starting XIs

Head Coach Bob Bradley makes two changes to Toronto’s starting XI after their defeat in Vancouver on Tuesday. Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty comes in for Kosi Thompson, while Chris Mavinga replaces Shane O’Neill. Mark-Anthony Kaye remains out with injury. Goalkeeper Alex Bono makes his 150th appearance for the club.

Noticeable absence from New England’s team is Argentinian striker Gustavo Bou. Former TFC defender Omar Gonzalez is on the bench.

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Match Preview via Adam Palermo

Toronto FC will visit the New England Revolution on Saturday night as the Reds look to put more points on the board in their hunt for a playoff position.

Following their trouncing of Charlotte FC last weekend, the belief within the team and the fanbase should be rising. With 12 league matches still to play, Toronto are six points behind FC Cincinnati, who occupy the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Reds grabbed three huge points off a team ahead of them in the table in that Charlotte match and they will look to repeat that same feat in New England.

Going into Saturday’s match, questions marks remain around the fitness of Lorenzo Insigne, and to a lesser extent, Federico Bernardeschi. Bernardeschi played the full 90 in Toronto’s last match, their loss to Vancouver in the Canadian Championship Final while Insigne played 88 minutes at BC Place. With TFC looking for an equalizer for most of the match, Bob Bradley likely felt the need to keep two of his most experienced players on the pitch, with a trophy and Champions League qualification on the line. As a result, he may opt to limit the minutes of the two Italian internationals in Foxborough.

The status surrounding Mark Anthony Kaye also remains unclear, with the midfielder not appearing in the squad for the Vancouver match after being injured against Charlotte. Even though the Canadian international is new to the team, his role in the middle of the park will be vital as the season continues, especially with few central midfielders to call upon to replace him. Though Toronto dominated possession on Tuesday, his absence was indeed felt. The balance felt off with Jayden Nelson playing more centrally, with there seeming to be a lot of space in between the defence and midfield which the Whitecaps capitalized on when on the counter.

Another returning Red hoping to play on Saturday will be Doneil Henry. After training with the team last week and making two brief cameos against Charlotte and the Whitecaps, the TFC academy product could get his first start for the club since October 2014, which happened to be against the Revolution.

It will be a battle of two former United States men’s national team head coaches as Bob Bradley will be opposite the American coach he replaced in 2006, Bruce Arena.

This was set to be Jozy Altidore’s reunion with some of his old TFC teammates but news broke on Thursday that the striker will get a loan move to Puebla of Liga MX. Altidore has one goal in 17 appearances in MLS action this season, coming off the bench in 13 of those matches.

New England’s Omar Gonzalez could suit up against his former side, though he has only made 10 appearances in MLS for his newest club. The towering centre back made 72 appearances for Toronto FC.

Gustavo Bou has been carrying the goalscoring load for New England this season, especially since the loss of Adam Buksa. The Argentine has seven goals in eight starts since Buksa’s sale to RC Lens, but he missed his side’s last match, a goalless draw with Columbus Crew.

With Buksa and Altidore now departed, Arena will have to rely upon Bou and the recently acquired designated player Giacomo Vrioni to find the goals for the remainder of the campaign. Revs attacking midfielder Carles Gil leads the league with 11 assists and will continue to create chances for whoever plays in front of him.

The Revolution are winless in their last three and currently sit 11th in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of Toronto FC.

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Match Details

Opponent: New England Revolution

Kickoff time: 8:00 p.m. EST

Watch: TSN

Stadium: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.