MLS 2020 Betting Preview: New England Revolution

The Season's Dark Horses?

This year’s Major League Soccer season kicks off next month, with the 25th edition of the competition kicking off for the first time in February this year. Whilst the likes of LAFC and Seattle are always going to be amongst the favourites tipped for the big wins this year, one dark horse you might want to pay some attention to is New England Revolution.

One of the oldest footballing sides in North America, the Revs have played in the MLS every season of its existence and although they are yet to win a Supporter’s Shield or MLS Cup, they have made an MLS Cup final five times, with the most recent appearance coming in 2014.

How Did New England Do In 2019?

The Revs made a fairly unremarkable start to the 2019 MLS season under former Premier League star Brad Friedel, losing eight out of their first twelve regular season games and sitting right at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

That prompted a change of management, with former USMNT coach Bruce Arena coming in and embarking on a run of 7-0-4 between May and August. Although the momentum would stall slightly towards the end of the season, Arena guaranteed that the Revs would shock most preseason MLS predictions and make the postseason for the first time since 2015, only losing out 1-0 to a heavily fancied Atlanta side.

Who Should You Look Out For?

Carles Gil was voted as the MLS newcomer of the year for 2019 and enters the new season as one of the Revs’ star players. The 27 year old Spainard has had spells in England and Spain registered 10 goals and 14 assists over the campaign and comes into the new season as New England’s captain.

Gustavo Bou joined the Revs back in July 2019 from Club Tijuana and immediately proved himself to be one of the enigmatic personalities in the entire MLS. The big man registered 9 goals in 14 games was instrumental in propelling the Revs into the postseason and his form could see him as a serious force for this year’s Golden Shoe.

Despite still being only 24 years of age, Diego Fagundez has become one of the New England's and the MLS' most accomplished and veteran stars. The shining light of a new era for Major League soccer when he first burst onto the scene in 2015, Fagundez experienced one of his worst seasons to date last campaign and many fans were left wondering whether or not Fagundez would even have a place in the Revs' 2020 roster. For the time being, he remains a New England player and could be a player to keep your eyes on this year.

How Did The Revs Do In Last Season's Markets?

New England started the season with some pretty hefty outsider odds of +2900 to make the postseason; once Arena's initial bounce kicked in, this was shortened down to +1800. After a run of seven straight games without a loss, their odds to win the MLS Cup were slashed in our MLS soccer markets down to +3300.

They went into their postseason game against Atlanta with odds of +850, before shortening them slightly down to +650 after a 0-2 road win against NYCFC.