A day after clinching the Eastern Conference crown, the New England Revolution learned they will face the LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup final on Dec. 7 after Bruce Arena’s side won the Western Conference final 2-2 on aggregate thanks to the road-goal tiebreaker over the Seattle Sounders.

Since the Galaxy finished with six more points than the Revolution during the regular season, the final will be held at The StubHub Center in Carson, California. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. ET.

Here are five storylines we’ll be keeping a close eye on as the championship match approaches:

A chance to put past MLS Cup failures out to pasture. The Revolution’s history in championship finals is one filled with heartache. There were extra-time losses in 2002 and 2005 (both against the Galaxy), the penalty kick failure of 2006 and the agonizing one-goal defeat in 2007. And who was on the pitch for each setback? None other than current Revolution coach Jay Heaps, who starred on the team’s backline from 2001-09. Seven years after he and his teammates trudged off the RFK Stadium field empty-handed for the fourth time in as many tries, Heaps will get the chance to silence the critics once and for all. You’ll be hard-pressed to find another person more motivated to lift the MLS Cup trophy than Heaps.

Revs clear underdogs. As well as the Revolution have played since late August, the fact is they’ll be facing a squad that played at a high level for nearly the entire season. The Galaxy registered an historic plus-32 goal differential during the regular season and fielded a squad that included three legitimate MVP candidates in Robbie Keane, Landon Donovan and Gyasi Zardes. While the Revolution offense has been in top form during the postseason, let’s not forget that the Galaxy enter the Cup final fresh off a series win against the Supporters’ Shield-winning Sounders. The odds are stacked against the Revolution, but that may work to their advantage, as they’ve embraced the underdog role all season.

Can the Galaxy defense be beat? In a word: Yes. Despite its regular-season form, one need only look at Sunday’s second leg of the Western Conference finals to see that the Galaxy backline isn’t exactly impenetrable. Center back Leonardo, who filled in for the injured A.J. DeLaGarza, looked like his usual mistake-prone self, while Omar Gonzalez wasn’t exactly putting his stamp on the match during the first half. Granted, it’s hard for any backline to keep the Hydra-like Sounders attack at bay. But rest assured that Heaps will be dissecting how Seattle breached the backline and will advise his squad during the week how to exploit the Galaxy in the rear.

Midfield key to Revs’ success. Nearly five months ago, the Galaxy handed the utterly overmatched Revolution a 5-1 drubbing. Why were the Revolution beat so easily? Just look at their midfield, which has undergone a number of changes since. The biggest, of course, was the addition of Jermaine Jones. But other tweaks and refinements have been made as well. Scott Caldwell has been asked to undertake a more defensive role, while Saturday’s match featured Chris Tierney out on the left in place of Kelyn Rowe. Unlike the unit they rolled out at the StubHub Center back on July 16, the current Revolution midfield is stronger and features many more moving parts, and that in and of itself gives them a much better chance at success this time around.

What would a championship do for the Revs’ profile in packed pro sports landscape? This is the biggest question for a squad that has fought for press attention since its inception. And in recent years, that fight has only become tougher given the championship successes of each of Boston’s so-called “Big Four” franchises. But those titles have served to show that Boston sports fans, first and foremost, love a winner. Nothing makes a New England sports fan prouder than laying claim to an allegiance to the best team, regardless of the sport. We saw a taste of that in Saturday’s second leg of the Eastern Conference finals, where a postseason club-record 32,689 fans witnessed the Revolution lift the conference championship trophy. A title may not make the Revolution as popular as their fellow Gillette Stadium tenant overnight, but it certainly would grab the region’s.