FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Above the playoff line and steadily climbing in the Eastern Conference standings, the New England Revolution return home on Saturday night when they’ll host Orlando City SC in a massive six-point showdown at Gillette Stadium.
The Revs (8-8-6, 30 pts.) and Lions (7-10-5, 26 pts.) will kick off at 7 p.m., with NBC Sports Boston televising the match and streaming the action live for authenticated subscribers on NBCSportsBoston.com and the NBC Sports mobile app.
Brad Feldman, Paul Mariner and Naoko Funayama will have the English call both there and on 98.5 The Sports Hub, while Portuguese radio listeners can tune into 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA.
Matchday Guide | Everything you need to know before Saturday’s six-pointer
Pregame coverage begins at 6:15 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 Matt McCarthy and former Revolution midfielder Clyde Simms will take calls during 30 minutes of postgame coverage on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Saturday night’s game will be played on a temporary grass surface, laid down at Gillette Stadium ahead of Sunday’s International Champions Cup match between AC Milan and Benfica.
Current Form: Revs aim to match club-record unbeaten run; Orlando in the East mix
A comfortable 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati on Sunday night at Nippert Stadium stretched the Revolution’s unbeaten run to 10 games (6-0-4) in league play, one shy of the club-record 11-game run set at the start of the 2005 season. Carles Gil stayed red-hot with one goal and one assist for the second straight match, giving him three goals and six assists in the Revs’ last seven games.
Highlights | Gil, Delamea score either side of halftime to lift Revs to victory
Matt Turner made seven saves in Cincinnati to keep his second straight clean sheet, and with just eight goals against during this 10-game unbeaten run, the Revs have the league’s best defensive record since May 11.
But despite moving into a tie for sixth place in the East (with a game in hand on Montreal), New England aren’t satisfied. As they analyzed last weekend’s performance they focused on what they could’ve done better, as they aim to raise their level from one that wins games in July to one that can win games in October and November.
“I think we know what we can accomplish, and I know that all of us have higher expectations for ourselves,” said Teal Bunbury, who had a four-game goal-scoring streak snapped in Cincinnati. “We definitely did miss two or three good opportunities in (Cincinnati), so I think it’s a great mentality for all of us knowing that, ‘Hey, we were able to get a win on the road, but we know we can continue to improve.’
“I think that (performance) isn’t going to be good enough coming down the stretch, making it into the playoffs, and once you get into the playoffs. Having that mentality is huge for us right now.”
Training Report | Adjusting expectations as Revs keep rising in the East
One of the teams New England could be battling for a playoff spot down the stretch is Orlando, currently four points back of the Revs in ninth place in the East. The Lions had a modest three-game unbeaten run (1-0-2) snapped last weekend with a 1-0 home loss to the New York Red Bulls, but James O’Connor’s side has been solid on the road, going 2-1-2 in their last five matches away from Exploria Stadium.
“They’re going to fight until the end,” Bunbury said of Orlando. “They have a lot of key players. They have a good group and they have a lot of key attacking pieces … I think it’s going to be a good matchup, but we’re playing at home, we’re feeling good, and it’s all about getting three points.”
Past Meetings: Revs unbeaten in four matches against Orlando at Gillette Stadium
These sides met just five weeks ago in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16, with Orlando City advancing courtesy of a 2-1 win in extra time at Exploria Stadium. That’s the Revolution’s only loss in all competitions since the club parted ways with Brad Friedel in mid-May, and brought Bruce Arena on board shortly thereafter.
While that result kept the Revs winless all-time in Orlando, it’s been a completely different story in Foxborough, where the Revs are 3-0-1 in four meetings with the Lions dating back to Orlando’s 2015 expansion season. All three of those wins have been by shutout, including a 2-0 victory last October.
Injury Report: Agudelo “doing fine” after missing last week’s trip to Cincinnati
Juan Agudelo missed his first game since mid-April last weekend as injury kept him off the trip to Cincinnati, but the 26-year-old attacker seems to have avoided a long-term absence. Sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena said Agudelo is “doing fine” as he returned to training this week.
Luis Caicedo is also back in the mix after serving a one-game suspension in Cincinnati, while both Brian Wright and Zach Herivaux will be unavailable while on loan with Birmingham Legion FC (USL Championship).
Final Thoughts: Arena adjusting expectations as Revs keep rolling
“I’m not sure that this is a situation where, when I came in, that there were a lot of expectations to win a championship this year,” Arena said of the Revs’ turnaround in his first two months. “Now, our expectations are to continue to make progress as a team, wherever that takes us.”
