It’s been three weeks since the Revolution’s 2-0 win over the league-leading LA Galaxy, but after three consecutive 1-0 wins in the group stage of SuperLiga, the Revs finally return to regular-season action this afternoon against the expansion Philadelphia Union. Kickoff from the recently-opened PPL Park is set for 3:30 p.m. (Comcast SportsNet New England, 98.5 The Sports Hub), so don’t go making any Saturday afternoon plans - you’re booked.

I know we’ve got a solid number of suppporters making the trip down to Philly for today’s game, and it should be an exciting one with two teams meeting for the first time ever. The Revs have historically fared well against expansion teams, going 8-2-3 against first-year clubs since 2005, including a pair of victories over Seattle Sounders FC last season. Of course, history has no effect on today’s outcome, and the Union has not been playing like an expansion team as of late, especially at home.

Because we’ve got an earlier kickoff this afternoon, today’s Revolution Soccer Gameday comes to you in blog format (by the time we shot and edited the video, it’d be almost time for kickoff), so here we go …

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It is an absolutely glorious day here in Chicago, where tonight the Revs will take on the archrival Fire in the second game of the group stage of SuperLiga 2010. Normally of course this would be a video piece breaking down the particulars of tonight’s match, but certain circumstances (slightly earlier kickoff, no traveling video editor on this trip) mean today’s Revolution Soccer GameDay will come to you in blog form instead. I know it’s difficult for those of you out there who are always just so thrilled to see my face (hi Mom!) but for today this’ll have to do. We’ll be back with video ahead of the final group game against Morelia on Tuesday.

As for this evening’s game, it’s a pivotal meeting which will ultimately set up the situation for those final group matches on Tuesday. If both the Revs and Morelia win tonight, those clubs will be guaranteed spots in the SuperLiga 2010 semifinals and they’ll be left to battle it out for first and second place on Tuesday. If that’s not the case, then we’ll at least know whether the Revs need a win or a draw – and if they need the other result to go their way – to seal a berth in the last four of the tournament.

So now that we have an idea of the importance of tonight’s match, let’s see what we’re dealing with this evening …

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Like many of you I’m still mulling over the United States’ heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Ghana in the Round of 16, ending the Americans’ run in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It would have to be said that after overcoming a slow start, the U.S. had its chances to grab a game-winner in regular time after Landon Donovan’s perfectly-placed penalty leveled the score, but they just couldn’t convert on their chances. So begins another four-year wait for the world’s best sporting event.

However, fans of the New England Revolution will have very little time to dwell on the United States’ loss, because luckily their own Revs are back in action tonight against none other than the archrival Chicago Fire. It’s been more than three weeks since the Revolution played a league match (June 5 against Seattle) and almost a full month since last playing a regular-season game at home (May 29 against New York), and there’s no better time to get back into it than now and no better team to play against than the Fire.

Normally “Revolution Soccer Game Day” is brought to you in the form a video report from the stadium, but special circumstances bring this edition to you in blog format. Beginning early in the morning today (Sunday), the 2010 America SCORES Cup (more info on the program here) will be taking place at Gillette Stadium and as host of the event, the Revolution always enters a team in the competition. Along with fellow staff members (including some people you might’ve heard of like Jay Heaps, Brad Feldman and Brian Bilello) I’ll be participating in the tournament throughout the day.

If I don’t die of exhaustion, we’ll bring you all of our normal postgame coverage via video, but here is the Game Day preview in blog format while I prepare to test my own soccer skills for a good cause …

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As mentioned yesterday, today’s edition of Revolution Soccer GameDay will be brought to you in blog format as a result of this afternoon’s early kickoff (1 p.m. ET) from BMO Field in Toronto. As we usually do in our video piece, we’ll take a look at the weather, injury report and storylines for today’s match, but before we do that I must mention what will undoubtedly be the biggest story when the teams take the field later today.

Midfielder Shalrie Joseph has returned to the Revolution and traveled with the club to Toronto for today’s match. Joseph had been on a leave of absence from the club for personal reasons, missing seven games in all competitions beginning with the April 24 match against the Colorado Rapids. He also missed three of the first four games of the season because of a right hip flexor strain, so he’s appeared in only one match this season – the home opener against Toronto FC on April 10. Joseph’s return provides a huge boost for the Revolution, as the 2009 MLS MVP finalist has been a force in the midfield for years.

It’s likely that Joseph will be the center of attention should he take the field this afternoon, but let’s also take a look at what other factors might play a role in today’s game, beginning with the weather.

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On each gameday throughout the 2010 season - either late in the morning or early in the afternoon - I’ll bring you an up-to-the-minute update on all of the happenings from whichever city we’re playing (whether it’s on the road or at home). This will include a weather report, injury update and any other key storylines for the game that night.

Normally, these will be video reports on location, either from the city in which we’re playing or from the field at Gillette Stadium. However, a few random factors have nixed the video for today and I’ve decided that a blog post would be just as effective to get you all of the information you need.

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