In match two of their three-game homestand, the New England Revolution will welcome Orlando City to Gillette Stadium in MLS action on Saturday.
The Revs began the homestand with a 3-1 win over Inter Miami, while the Lions have won consecutive league fixtures, blanking the Colorado Rapids 2-0 last weekend.
Match preview
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An early flurry of offence helped New England end a lengthy winless run of six matches in all competitions, putting them fourth in the Eastern Conference with 30 points.
That was the fourth time over the 2023 regular season that this team had netted three or more goals at home as they remain unbeaten domestically at Gillette Stadium this year.
New England have never lost a home fixture against Orlando City, with the Revolution scoring multiple goals in all but one of those matches played in Greater Boston, having only dropped points against the Lions twice, the last time being in 2022 (1-1).
Bruce Arena has seen plenty of resilience from his side throughout the current campaign as his Revs have collected six points when faced with a second-half deficit and are unbeaten in their last seven home outings versus Eastern Conference opponents dating back to last season.
While they have not been quite as sharp technically over the past few weeks, New England are still one of only four MLS sides (FC Cincinnati, Nashville SC and the Philadelphia Union) with at least 30 points to date, currently six points ahead of their 17-game mark from 2022.
The Revolution have found the back of the net in nine straight regular-season home fixtures dating back to 2022, scoring at least once in the opening half in six of their eight domestic encounters this year.
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Being in the right place at the right time has been the story in Orlando of late, as this team have picked up points in six successive domestic encounters, one shy of their longest run from 2021.
Oscar Pareja has seen his side look much more compact and structured when out of possession, conceding a goal or fewer in each of their last five matches.
They have been particularly potent on the road, making the most of their scoring opportunities with three goals in each of their previous two away contests while posting multiple strikes in five games as the visitors this year.
With four away wins in 2023, they are just one shy of their total from the previous campaign, while two more in between now and the end of the year would set a new franchise record for the most in a single regular season.
The 2022 US Open Cup winners invested a lot in new players over the off-season in an attempt to be a more prolific scoring squad, and we are finally starting to see some of those investments pay off as they have got a goal from seven different individuals over their previous four contests.
Orlando City have only tasted defeat in one MLS away fixture this season, the fewest in the league to this point of the campaign.
Team News
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The Revs' Noel Buck is questionable for Saturday with a left leg issue, something which continues to bother Tommy McNamara, Brandon Bye is questionable because of a sore left shoulder, Maciel has a right Achilles issue, Henry Kessler is dealing with a right hamstring strain, Nacho Gil has a problem in his right leg, while Dylan Borrero recently underwent season-ending left knee surgery.
Carles Gil was Mr. everything for New England again last weekend, scoring his 11th career goal from the spot, one behind Shalrie Joseph for the second-most all-time in club history, while he also assisted on the strikes by Bobby Wood and Matt Polster to become one of only five Revolution players with more than 80 goal contributions in MLS play (82).
Gustavo Bou returned to the starting lineup for the first time since April 29, Emmanuel Boateng started for a ninth successive fixture, collecting his 175th MLS cap in the process, while DeJuan Jones became the 28th player in team history to surpass 10,000 minutes played across all competitions.
Luca Petrasso is listed as questionable for the Lions because of a sore right thigh, Gaston Gonzalez is expected to miss another match for that same reason, Abdi Salim has a sore left knee, Adam Grinwis sat out of their previous encounter due to concussion protocol and Antonio Carlos took another yellow card last Saturday and as a result will be suspended for this encounter.
Facundo Torres was selected for the Uruguay national team for the upcoming international window, Wilfredo Rivera got a call-up from the Puerto Rico squad, while Pedro Gallese and Wilder Cartagena were chosen for the Peruvians.
Ramiro Enrique recorded his first goal for the Lions last week, Torres scored his third in two games, Ivan Angulo made his 30th Orlando appearance across all competitions and Alejandro Granados made his MLS debut, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Farrell, Romney, Makoun; Jones, Blessing, Polster, Boateng; C. Gil; Wood, Vrioni
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Stajduhar; Smith, Halliday, Jansson, Santos; Araujo, Martins; Enrique, Pereyra, Angulo; Kara
We say: New England Revolution 3-2 Orlando City
Both teams have shown to be potent in the attacking third of late, and although the Revs can be a little messy at the back at times, they always seem to get ahead and barely hang on in these tight matches.
How to watch
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
