Behind Enemy Lines: Three Questions with The Bent Musket

1) With all of the rumors and actual transfers the Revs have seen this week, what kind of team will appear at Sporting Park on Saturday?

Now that all the speculation is over, I can give you a clear answer. And that answer is...probably the same team we've seen every week for the last two months. I don't expect much difference in lineup choices, and I also don't believe Charlie Davies will be available on Saturday with such a short time between his transfer and the match. You'll see the usual 4-1-4-1/4-3-3 set-up, with the usual solid back four anchoring a five-piece attack of creative midfielders and swapping forwards. Juan Agudelo is apparently still injured, so a start for Dimitry Imbongo up top is likely, with Diego Fagundez and Saer Sene expected to do the damage from the flanks.

If Heaps is smart, he'll start Kelyn Rowe next to Lee Nguyen, but he doesn't always subscribe to that philosophy. Scott Caldwell should be sitting in front of the league-best back four of Chris Tierney, Andrew Farrell, Stephen McCarthy, and Jose Goncalves. Of course Bobby Shuttleworth will be in goal.

2) This match has been dubbed as a "must-win" for Sporting to stay in the Supporter's Shield race, how big is this match for the Revs?

Well, it's probably a must-win for the Revs to stay relevant in the playoff race. The points they dropped last week against Toronto could prove catastrophic in their hunt for the fifth spot, so it places extra pressure on this match, despite the fact that SKC and New England aren't likely to be competing for the same spot in the standings. If the Revs want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009, they really need to start winning more games.

3) The last time these two teams met was a snooze fest draw without several key players on both sides. What kind of match do you see playing out on Saturday?

I think this will be an exciting match. Both teams have very good defenses, but the conditions and the missing players in the last match rendered the offenses ineffective. Nowadays, the Revs offense has found its stride, and guys like Graham Zusi won't be missing for Sporting. The score may not reflect a shootout, but I expect the stats will.