MLS Regular Season | Match #5
New England Revolution at D.C. United
Saturday, March 25 | 7:30 p.m. ET
Audi Field | Washington, D.C.
Watch: Available FREE on the Apple TV app
   - English Talent: Ed Cohen (play-by-play), Lori Lindsey (analyst)
   - Spanish Talent: Juan Arango (play-by-play), Carlos Suarez (analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
   - English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Charlie Davies (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
2nd in Eastern Conference (3-1-0, 9 pts.)
Last Result | 1-0 win vs. Nashville SC
The Revs bounced back from their only loss of the season in fine fashion last weekend at Gillette Stadium, claiming a gutsy 1-0 win over Nashville SC to climb into second place in the Eastern Conference. Gustavo Bou scored his first goal of 2023 early in the second half and the Revs kept their third clean sheet in four games as they became one of just three teams in MLS – along with expansion side St. Louis CITY SC (4-0-0, 12 pts.) and Atlanta United FC (3-0-1, 10 pts.) – to boast three wins through Matchday 4.
Saturday’s road trip to the nation’s capital will close out the month of March, before the Revolution will return home to play four of five games during the month of April at Gillette Stadium.
D.C. United
11th in Eastern Conference (1-2-1, 4 pts.)
Last Result | 3-2 loss at New York City FC
D.C. United finished at the bottom of the MLS standings in 2022, prompting a midseason coaching change with Wayne Rooney returning to take charge at his former club. Rooney has since added several high profile pieces to D.C.’s roster, including a pair of Designated Players in forward Christian Benteke and midfielder Mateusz Klich, as well as midfielder Lewis O’Brien, who will soon arrive on loan from Nottingham Forest.
Benteke had a part to play in D.C.’s season-opening win over Toronto FC – scoring a late equalizer before Ted Ku-Dipietro won it in the 98th minute – but it’s been a frustrating stretch since, as D.C. have dropped road trips to the Columbus Crew and New York City FC, sandwiched around a 1-1 home draw with Orlando City SC.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution center back Henry Kessler
New England’s strong start to the season has largely been down to a string of solid defensive performances, with all three of the Revolution’s victories coming via shutout. Goalkeeper Djordje Petrović and newcomer Dave Romney have (rightfully) received plenty of praise for their roles in the Revolution’s resolve, but center back Henry Kessler – who has twice been named to the MLS Team of the Matchday – also deserves credit.
Kessler and Romney will both need to be strong on Saturday night as they aim to deal with D.C. forward Christian Benteke, a physical presence at 6-foot-3.
D.C. United forward Christian Benteke
DP forward Taxi Fountas burned the Revs last year with two goals and one assist in D.C.’s 3-2 win, but the 27-year-old has yet to feature this year while dealing with a hamstring injury. That means even more focus will fall on Christian Benteke, who has two goals in four appearances this season, his first full year in MLS after arriving in the nation’s capital last August.
Benteke, 32, brings with him years of experience at the highest levels of the game, including stints in the English Premier League with Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Crystal Palace, as well as 18 goals in 45 appearances for the Belgium National Team.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
Carles Gil has been removed from the Revolution’s official availability report after missing last weekend’s win over Nashville with a muscle strain, and on Thursday afternoon Bruce Arena told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand that if Gil feels good following Friday morning’s training session, he’ll travel to D.C.
Andrew Farrell is also off the Revs’ availability report and now has two full weeks of training under his belt as he aims to make a matchday squad for the first time in 2023.
Several players will miss this weekend’s game, however, including both Dylan Borrero (Colombia) and Christian Makoun (Venezuela) while on international duty. Borrero has started all four games to open the season, meaning Arena will have to adjust his starting XI on Saturday night.
“Like anything else, you miss one of your key attacking players, you make adjustments, and we’ll do that,” Arena said. “We’ll be okay. We’ll make some changes and be ready to play the game.”
In terms of injuries, Nacho Gil (right leg), Jacob Jackson (left ACL), Maciel (left Achilles), and Tommy McNamara (left leg) all remain out ahead of the weekend. Goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr., meanwhile, has been ruled out because of illness, and the Revs have signed Revolution II goalkeeper Nico Campuzano on a Short-Term Agreement to be part of the squad on Saturday night.
D.C. United
Saturday night’s hosts officially list five players as out for this weekend’s game through injury: Brendan Hines-Ike (foot), Martin Rodriguez (knee), Andy Najar (thigh), Pedro Santos (knee), and Matai Akinmboni (head). DP forward Taxi Fountas (thigh), who has missed the first four games of the season, is listed as questionable, along with defender Derrick Williams (thigh), who has played 90 minutes in each of the last two games.
Victor Pálsson, meanwhile, is currently on international duty with Iceland.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena
“Well, certainly their new additions have helped them. [Christian] Benteke’s an excellent player, very dangerous and clearly a good goal scorer. [Mateusz Klich] is an excellent midfielder. They’ve got experienced center backs in [Steven] Birnbaum and [Derrick] Williams, so they have a good, solid team, and they’re always difficult at home so it’s going to be a really challenging game.”
New England Revolution forward Bobby Wood
“For me personally, I think I add a lot of ball running, you know I like to press and do a lot of things off the ball, and I think it fits in very well with all of the creative players we have. I just try to work off their creative movements and do my thing and help the team as much as possible.”
