The 2015 Major League Soccer regular season continues with a match between the New England Revolution (8-9-7, 31 points) and the Houston Dynamo (8-8-7, 31 points) at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, August 15.
The Revs are currently sitting tied at fourth and fifth place with Toronto FC in the tight Eastern Conference, just three points ahead of closest pursuers Montreal Impact and Orlando City SC, who both have 28 points and are fighting for the last playoff spot.
A win against the Dynamo is highly important to give head coach Jay Heaps' men a clearer postseason path and would make them stay away in the middle of the pack. Their last game was a resounding 3-1 home win over Toronto on August 1, as reported by the MLS official website, and they want to follow-up that strong showing against La Naranja on Saturday.
Meanwhile, out in the Western Conference the Orange Crush are also coming off a huge home victory last Saturday with a close 2-1 win over the hard-luck San Jose Earthquakes, who were shorthanded when Brazilian midfielder Alex scored the winning goal in the 77th-minute, via Yahoo Sports.
Houston is just a point behind the Seattle Sounders, who are currently in possession of the last playoff spot in the West. A victory by the Dynamo against the Revs coupled with a Sounders' loss to Orlando City on Sunday would put them in the sixth and last postseason spot.
Prediction: A 1-1 draw for two tough teams that are trying to qualify for the playoffs.
New England Revolution starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Shuttleworth; Tierney, Gonçalves, Farrell, Hall; Caldwell, Kobayashi; Fagundez, Nguyen, Rowe; Davies
Houston Dynamo starting lineup (4-1-2-1-2 formation): Willis; Beasley, Rodríguez, Horst, Williams; Garrido; Alex, Miranda; Barnes; Davis, Bruin