Bruce Arena has the Revolution one win away from the MLS Cup finals. (AP photo)

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The surprising New England Revolution are set to battle the third-seeded Columbus Crew SC in the Eastern Conference Final of the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs today at 3 p.m. (ABC,ESPN Deportes) on Sunday afternoon, with the winner earning the right to advance to MLS Cup next Saturday.

New England, seeded eighth in the Eastern Conference, is one win away from advancing to the club’s sixth MLS Cup, which would be the second most all-time. The Revolution will face Columbus, 10-0-1 across all competitions at MAPFRE Stadium this season, for the first time in 2020. It is the eighth postseason meeting between the two MLS originals, with the Revs holding an unbeaten 4-0-3 record (2-0-1 away) in the playoff series. New England is 5-1-4 in the conference final round, with a 3-1-1 mark away from home.

The Revolution’s postseason run has been catalyzed by a dynamic attack balanced with a cohesive defensive unit that has helped the club outscore opponents 7-2 over three straight wins. Gustavo Bou (three goals, one assist) and Carles Gil (two goals, three assists) have factored into all seven goals in the playoffs, with fellow Designated Player Adam Buksa and Tajon Buchanan contributing one goal each. Bou tallied a brace against Orlando City in the conference semifinal, improving the Revs’ record to 10-0-6 across all competitions when he scores. Forward Teal Bunbury, the club’s Golden Boot winner in the regular season with eight goals, owns the most career playoff appearances (15) and playoff goals (4) on the roster.

Goalkeeper Matt Turner, 3-1-0 in his career during the MLS Cup Playoffs, has backstopped a defensive unit with one clean sheet in the postseason to go with six during the regular season. Center backs Andrew Farrell and rookie Henry Kessler have started all three playoff games, along with DeJuan Jones and Buchanan, the 2020 Canadian Youth International Player of the Year. The Revolution defense allowed a club-record 1.09 goals per game during the regular season, with that figure dropping to 0.67 thus far in the playoffs.

Sunday’s match is New England’s first encounter with Columbus during Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena’s tenure. Arena, who holds league records for MLS Cup titles (6), playoff games coached (53) and postseason victories (35), is on the cusp of reaching his eighth MLS Cup in 15 seasons. Arena is 35-12-6 in his postseason career, and an unbeaten 29-0-3 when his teams score first.

With a win over Columbus, the Revolution will advance to the 2020 MLS Cup, visiting the winner of Monday’s Western Conference Final between Minnesota United FC and Seattle Sounders FC. The championship game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Today’s match also airs locally on the radio with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies calling the action on ROCK 92.9 FM, and in Portuguese on 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA in Portuguese.