Philadelphia Union Vs New England Revolution: 3 things to watch for – Dealing with Carles Gil absence
By Harvey Cruz
On Saturday night, the Philadelphia Union face the New England Revolution in the Round of 16 of the MLS is Back Tournament. Here are three things to watch for.
In the Philadelphia Union and New England Revolution, two of the Eastern Conference’s up-and-coming teams face off in the knockout stages on Saturday night. The efficient and well-drilled Union took seven points out of nine to finish second in Group A. New England also finished second in Group C with five points, though they did not lose at all in the group stages, earning a victory against Montreal and draws versus D.C. United and Toronto FC.
Questions surround the Revolution and their star creator heading into this one, while Philadelphia look to raise their game against a quality side.
Here are three things to watch for.
3. Dealing with Carles Gil absence
Entering the contest, The biggest question surrounding the New England Revolution is the health and availability of Carles Gil. New England played without Gil against Toronto FC as they monitored his status. Bruce Arena provided an update to reporters on his star playmaker’s fitness this week:
"“He’s unlikely to play on Saturday. That would be his status Those are things you don’t have control over. Every team has injuries, suspensions, what have you. If it happens, you just get on with it. We played against Toronto on Tuesday without Carles and if we need to play on Saturday without him that’s the way you go on and do your business in sports. Unfortunately, I don’t have control of injuries, and timeframes and coming back and all of that. So we’re just going to go about doing our business every day and if we get him back, we get him back.”"
The influential midfielder has been key to the Revs attack. In his absence, expect Gustavo Bou and others to lead the way. Offensively, New England have found the going tough. They scored two goals in their three group games. Should Gil continue to miss time with injury, their chances of winning the tournament will be in serious jeopardy.