FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Rested and refreshed after wrapping up a stretch of five games in 15 days last weekend, the New England Revolution will be back in action on Saturday night when they’ll host longtime Eastern Conference rival D.C. United at Gillette Stadium.
Kickoff between the Revs (3-8-3, 12 pts.) and D.C. (7-4-3, 24 pts.) is set for 7:30 p.m., with live coverage on NBC Sports Boston, 98.5 The Sports Hub, and 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA (Portuguese).
Matchday Guide | Everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s showdown
Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. with Revolution Pregame Live, as Elizabeth Pehota and Jeff Lemieux will break down the starting lineups and biggest storylines, streaming live on the Revolution’s official Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channels, as well as on revolutionsoccer.net.
Revolution Postgame Live will begin immediately after the final whistle on NBC Sports Boston, while 98.5 The Sports Hub will take calls during 30 minutes of postgame coverage.
Saturday will be the Revolution’s first-ever Star Wars Night at Gillette Stadium, with several special Star Wars match-day components incorporated into the evening’s festivities. Highlighting those elements will be a unique bobblehead giveaway, featuring veteran goalkeeper Brad “Jedi” Knighton wielding a glow-in-the-dark lightsaber.
Current Form: Revs riding improved defensive performances; D.C. still tied atop East
Interim head coach Mike Lapper has helped tighten up the New England Revolution rearguard in recent weeks, as the Revs have responded to allowing 18 goals in a four-game span by conceding just once in their last two matches, including their first road shutout of the season last weekend in Montreal.
Highlights | Revs grind out road point with 0-0 draw in Montreal
Those improved defensive performances have earned the Revs four points from their last two games, and built a bit of positive momentum as the club transitions into the Bruce Arena era.
“I think guys are just playing more free, having more fun, and just sticking together as a group more,” said DeJuan Jones, who came off the bench to play 55 minutes at left back in Montreal. “I love the response that we’ve gotten after all those goals we conceded – we’ve done a lot better, so we’re going to continue that momentum.”
New England will try to carry that momentum through Saturday night’s meeting with D.C., which will be the Revolution’s last game at Gillette Stadium for more than a month, as they’ll break from league play during the Concacaf Gold Cup.
“In this league, home games are paramount; you need to capitalize on them,” said Jalil Anibaba. “I feel like we’re starting to get that dialed in a little bit better now. With the break coming up, it’s very important for us to leave a good taste in our mouth, and in our fans’ mouths, before a bit of a break here.”
United enter the weekend tied atop the Eastern Conference standings with the Philadelphia Union, although they did lose their most recent league match, a 2-1 setback in Houston last weekend. That continued D.C.’s recent road blip, as they’ve gone 0-2-1 in their last three on the road after starting the season 3-0-1.
Ben Olsen’s side also played a midweek friendly against La Liga side Real Betis – falling 5-2 – but the Revs are preparing for a hungry D.C. team looking to maintain their place at the top of the standings.
“They played a tough game out there in Houston. They went up early and looked dangerous throughout the game. I know how tough those games are in Houston,” said Anibaba, who played for the Dynamo in 2016 and 2017. “I thought they looked good, so it’s going to be a tough game here.
“They’re going to come in and they’re going to play well, they’re going to play good football, so we just have to be up for the task.”
Past Meetings: Revs, D.C. split last year’s series with home form winning out
New England and D.C. split a pair of meetings in 2018, with both sides winning on their home ground. The Revs secured a dramatic 3-2 win over United in late June, before D.C. returned the favor with a 2-0 win over the Revolution on their first-ever visit to Audi Field in August.
The Revolution’s win last season – driven by a Cristian Penilla brace sandwiching a Teal Bunbury goal – was New England’s only triumph in the last nine regular-season meetings with D.C. dating back to the start of 2015.
Still, the Revs are unbeaten (3-0-4) in their last seven home games against D.C.
Injury Report: Rennicks away at U-20 World Cup; Mancienne, Angking both questionable
Justin Rennicks will be unavailable once again this weekend as the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team kicks off the FIFA World Cup group stage against Ukraine on Friday, May 24 (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1). Rennicks will also be unavailable for next weekend’s trip to visit the LA Galaxy.
Captain and center back Michael Mancienne, meanwhile, continues to deal with the effects of plantar fasciitis, although Lapper said there was hope that the 31-year-old could be back in the mix this weekend.
“It’s been a rough go for him,” Lapper said. “Hopefully he’s back at training this week and we incorporate him in the lineup against D.C., but again, I don’t know … It just seems like it’s very painful. We’ll see what he can do.”
There is good news for Homegrown midfielder Isaac Angking, who has returned to training two months after undergoing surgery on his left knee.
D.C. United will be without midfielder Paul Arriola, who has appeared in each of the first 14 games this season, starting all but one. Arriola was sent off late in last weekend’s loss to Houston.
Final Thoughts: Jones open to a potential future at outside back
“Preseason, I started playing outside back for the first time in my career,” said Jones. “Then, Lapper talked to me a couple weeks ago about playing outside back, and obviously I’m here to do whatever I can for the team.
“Against Chelsea, to get some time, that was really nice and it gave my confidence a boost going into the weekend. (Lapper) just said, ‘You could play winger, you could play outside back – just be ready.’ So I just wanted to be ready, and when they called my number, I was ready.”
