5 things to know before Atlanta United faces the Revs

Atlanta United plays New England in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Atlanta United plays New England in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Here are five things to know about New England, which Atlanta United will play Saturday at Gillette Stadium:

1. Atlanta United is undefeated, but winless, at the Revs' spatial home in Foxborough, Mass. Their record there is 0-0-2. The first draw came late during the 2017 season. It was one of the few games the team played under Tata Martino in which they didn't press, they weren't aggressive, they were content with a draw. Why? It was the last game in a stretch of seven games in 21 days. They were tired. The formation was narrow. They played not to lose.

The second game was a 1-1 draw in which the referees didn’t do a very good job with two mistakes. The first was the lack of a penalty called when Mikey Ambrose was bundled over from behind in the penalty box. It denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity, but not only was there no penalty called, there was no card given. The second mistake was a weak penalty called against Kevin Kratz in the final minutes of the 1-1 draw on May 30.

» More: Atlanta United practiced on new turf Wednesday

2. New England is 1-4-1 this season with five goals scored and 10 allowed. They aren't very good. They are 1-2-0 at home. The team's one win was 2-1 against Minnesota, a week after manager Brad Friedel called out the players. They followed that with 1-0 loss at Columbus.

It is a team that has struggled for two years under Friedel, going 10-13-11 with a goal difference of minus-6. While the record seems OK, but they won just three of their final 18 games.

3. The team's leading scorer this season is Carles Gil, who has three goals. No one else has scored  more than one goal. To be fair, Atlanta United's leading scorer is Ezequiel Barco, who has just one goal.

4. New England will be without centerback Michael Mancienne, who was given a red card at Columbus.

5. The Revs typically play a 4-4-2 with Juan Agudelo and Juan Fernando Caicedo leading the line.