New England Soccer Today

Gameday: #NEvCLB

Photo credit: Brian O'Connell

Photo credit: Brian O’Connell

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Good afternoon from a sunny and mild Gillette Stadium, where the Revolution (2-2-1, 7 points) and Crew (1-2-1, 4 points) will kick off at 3:00pm for their first meeting of 2015.

Saturday’s contest is a rematch of last year’s conference semifinal classic between the MLS originals, one that the Revolution ran away with by beating the Crew 7-3 on aggregate.

For live updates, be sure to follow @nesoccertoday on Twitter throughout the afternoon.

What’s at stake? For the Revolution, it’s about extending the recent attacking success that eluded them out of the gate. After they were held off the board in their first three, the locals have scored four goals from three different players. For the Crew (or Crew SC, depending upon your predilections), the goal is getting revenge for last year’s playoff embarrassment. The edge they’re expected to bring to Saturday’s match may give the Revolution their fiercest challenge of the early season.

Biggest question? Will Jermaine Jones make his 2015 debut? All of Revolution Nation is anxious to find out if their prized midfielder is finally able to step onto the pitch after undergoing sports hernia surgery in February.

Noteworthy: Saturday’s match will be Lee Nguyen’s 100th in a Revolution uniform. Not bad for a guy plucked off the waiver wire three years ago.

Weather: Unlike the Revolution first pair of home games, snow is not in the forecast. Rather, sunny skies and mild temperatures in the 50s will welcome fans in Foxborough this afternoon, even though there is a bit of wind swirling around stadium.

Referees: Silviu Petrescu will be the man in the middle for Saturday’s contest. Petrescu’s last Revolution match was last year’s match in Toronto on Aug. 30, a match handily won 3-0 by the locals. Coincidentally, that match also marked Jermaine Jones’ Revolution debut. Joining Petrescu will be Claudiu Badea (AR1) and Phil Briere (AR2) while Mathieu Bourdeau will serve as the fourth official.

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