Orlando City SC vs New England Revolution MLS Cup Playoffs preview with NERevsUK

/ Taylor Williams

Here at Orlando City UK, we love seeing fellow UK-based football fans take an active interest in Orlando City SC but also Major League Soccer as a whole.

Ahead of Sunday’s huge 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs Eastern Conference semi-final between the Lions and New England Revolution, we spoke to West Midlands-based Revs fan @NERevsUK.

Establishing his Twitter handle in March 2018, NERevsUK is the creation of avid Leeds United supporter Mike.

Not only running his @NERevsUK Twitter handle but running his own podcast too, NERevsUK aims to bring together likeminded New England Revolution fans in the United Kingdom.

With similar objectives to our own here at Orlando City UK, Mike’s own Twitter bio says he is “obsessed with all things Maine”.

Orlando City UK caught up with Mike to reflect on our 2020 MLS campaigns so far as well as where this huge 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs game could be won or lost.

Is this current New England Revolution season exceeding or matching your expectations so far?

I would say exceeding. This isn’t just because we beat Philadelphia Union either.

I’d fully expected New England Revolution to qualify for the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. However, I didn’t foresee us defeating Union.

Now it’s a case of let’s see how far we can go.

Rate this current New England Revolution season out of 10.

For me, it’s currently a 7 out of 10 campaign.

Heading into this game, Orlando City SC has only defeated Revs twice in 11 MLS attempts. Do you think this is significant?

Not for me. We had played Philadelphia Union five times this season and hadn’t won one!

Then… we saw what happened on Tuesday.

I feel Sunday’s game is like an FA Cup tie and form doesn’t matter in these games where anything can happen.

Who has been your New England Revolution MVP for 2020?

This is a tough one.

Matt Turner has had such an impressive season and kept Revs in so many games. But for me, it has to be Henry Kessler.

The rookie has looked so composed and not out of place in his first MLS season.

Did you want to avoid Orlando City SC or are you content with the matchup?

Being honest, I think we’ve had one of the toughest runs considering we played Philadelphia Union and now face Orlando City SC.

If we hadn’t just beat Union as comfortably as we did, I would’ve been more worried.

But right now, I’m pretty excited to see what we can do. I feel Orlando City SC vs New England Revolution will be a great game for the neutrals.

Which Orlando City SC players are you most concerned about facing?

It’s hard to look past someone like Nani.

However, Chris Mueller had a particularly strong season and he is the one I feel gets overlooked by the opposition.

That said, the Revs defence must concentrate on keeping Nani out of the game.

Adam Buksa has been a solid signing this season with 6 goals. Is he your most likely match-winner?

I’d say that Adam Buksa had a slow start to his Revs career.

However, he definitely seems to be getting the service now and has adapted to Bruce Arena’s style of play.

For me though, the main man is still Carles Gil and he’s the one Orlando City SC definitely need to keep quiet.

Tell us about a lesser-known Revs player who could hurt us on November 29.

I feel he’s more well-known now but Tajon Buchanan was great at the back end of the season.

He had been guilty of going missing in games and often struggled with consistency in his performances.

But in the last six or so games, he’s been huge for Revs. He’s recently filled in at right back for us and caused havoc against Montreal Impact and Philadelphia Union.

How significant an advantage do you think having home fans in attendance could be for Orlando City SC?

I feel the home crowd will definitely give the Orlando City SC players a massive boost.

Depending on how the New England Revolution players handle it, this could be a deciding factor.

And last but not least… tell us your score prediction for this HUGE MLS Cup Playoffs tie?

For me, the full-time score will be Orlando City SC 2 New England Revolution 2 with Revs winning in extra-time.

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Check out our #ORLvNE stats preview

Don’t forget to check out our Orlando City SC vs New England Revolution stats preview too.

Click here to read the preview.

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And don’t forget, Orlando City SC vs New England Revolution will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports Football on Sunday evening at 20:00 (GMT).

You can view our TV Fixture Tracker by clicking here.

What is YOUR score prediction for Orlando City SC‘s huge playoff game against New England Revolution?

Comment below or tweet us at @Orlando_CityUK to let us know!

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