The 2024 Leagues Cup group stage will come to a close on Tuesday with a battle for survival.
Last season’s Leagues Cup finalists, Nashville SC, will be forced to fight for their tournament lives when they travel to the northeast for their final group stage match against New England Revolution who will be aiming to claim that final knockout round spot for themselves.
The scenario is straightforward: Nashville requires a victory by a margin of at least two goals to advance. Any other result would see the Revolution claim the final Round of 32 berth.
That may prove a difficult task for Nashville, however, because in three trips to Gillette Stadium, the Coyotes are yet to score a goal (only conceding one) while these two remain the lowest-scoring teams in MLS this season. Still, since Nashville joined MLS in 2020, these two Eastern Conference rivals have a perfectly even 2-2-3 record against each other.
Nonetheless, every match presents new challenges. The Revs will need to overcome a laundry list of injuries including 2021 MLS MVP Carles Gil, the team’s top scorer Giacomo Vrioni, and England youth international midfielder Noel Buck just to name a few. Looking for a silver lining, catching the injury bug has allowed the supporting cast opportunities to show themselves led by 19-year-old homegrown Esmir Bajraktarević.
Meanwhile, Nashville is lookingto snap a seven-game losing streak with its first win under newly appointed head coach B.J. Callaghan following a loss in his debut match in their Leagues Cup opener. On the pitch, the former USMNT assistant and interim head coach boasts two attacking superstars in 2022 MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar and the second-most expensive player in club history, English striker Sam Surridge, who will hope to lead the Nashville goalscoring.
With neither team currently in the MLS playoff picture, they will not want to let the opportunity for success in Leagues Cup slip through their fingers on Tuesday as they battle for the last and final Round of 32 spot in the 2024 edition of Leagues Cup.
