Galaxy vs. Revs: Preview of LA's Match Against New England

The LA Galaxy are all set to take on the New England Revolution at the Home Depot Center after a welcome weekend off. They'll be taking on a New England club looking for just a little West Coast success, after it's proven so elusive the past few years. The Galaxy got their first win of the year over DC United 3-1 before the bye week; the Revolution got their first win of the year last week in their home opener against the Portland Timbers.

The Galaxy are currently tied for 8th place in the West, with three points from two matches. The Galaxy have only once in their history lost two straight matches to begin the season, in 2001. The Galaxy hadn't lost two straight in all competitions since August 2010.

"I think we’ve played well this year. We’ve just missed a couple of key plays. Like I said, it’s a fine line but we generated a lot of chances in the four official games we have played this year," said LA head coach Bruce Arena. " ... We have not trained as a team on any serious note to date. I think having the two weeks to get some players rested, some players fitness improved and get the team sharper tactically."

This is a far different message than the one being peddled after the panic inducing 1-3 loss to Real Salt Lake, and the tough 1-2 loss to Toronto FC to knock the team from CONCACAF Champions League play. The two weeks off certainly gave the team a chance to gel, and gave both Landon Donovan and Mike Magee some time to recover from some 'niggles' that they had picked up in the early going of the season.

One of the players to break out in the last match was Robbie Keane, notching his first MLS brace. Not finishing the chances he had against Toronto FC in the Champions League match had been a hot topic on twitter. Still, the striker remained confident that things would eventually break his way.

Said Keane: "I don’t mind missing chances; I mind when I’m not in the position to score them," said Keane. "As long as I keep getting in the positions to score them, then I know that I’ll eventually score. You try not to let it weigh on your mind too much, but football can take you over. That was probably a little bit of the case, but I knew that as long as I kept plugging away and getting into positions, I knew that I’d score."

The match kicks off at 8:00pm PST, and will be broadcast nationally on NBC Sports Network. This is LA's first appearance on NBC Sports, who outbid Fox Sports for the contract that gave Fox Soccer an MLS Game of the Week the past few years.