MLS Regular Season | Match #10
New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls
Wednesday, June 23 | 7 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: TV38, myRITV
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), WBIX 1260 Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
Revolution Kickoff (6:30 p.m. ET)
- Pregame coverage on TV38
Revolution Pregame Live (6 p.m. ET)
- Facebook, YouTube, revolutionsoccer.net
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
1st in Eastern Conference (6-1-2, 20 pts.)
Last Result | 3-2 win at New York City FC
New England picked up right where they left off before the international break on Saturday night, stretching their winning streak to four games with a wild 3-2 victory over New York City FC. Gustavo Bou, Jon Bell, and Tommy McNamara scored the goals, Carles Gil registered his MLS-leading sixth and seventh assists, and Matt Turner earned MLS Player of the Week honors with a season-high seven saves, including stopping an early penalty kick.
Now the Revs will return to Gillette Stadium, where they’re a perfect 4-0-0 on the year and where they beat the Red Bulls, 3-1, in their most recent home game on May 22. Wednesday night will be the Revolution’s first home game without a limit on crowd size since March 7, 2020 – a stretch of 474 days.
New York Red Bulls
5th in Eastern Conference (4-4-0, 12 pts.)
Last Result | 2-0 win vs. Nashville SC
While the Revs picked up three points at Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening, one night prior it was the Red Bulls claiming victory at their home venue. Fábio found his first MLS goal to open the scoring before Kyle Duncan added an insurance strike in the second half, as RBNY handed Nashville their first loss of the season, 2-0.
Gerhard Struber’s side has now won back-to-back games since their loss to the Revs one month ago – also downing Orlando City SC, 2-1, before the international break – but all four of RBNY’s wins this season have been at Red Bull Arena, as they’re 0-3-0 away from home.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution forward Gustavo Bou
The international break came at a great time for Bou, who used the opportunity to recover from injury and get himself fresh ahead of a busy summer. The 31-year-old forward returned with a bang at NYCFC, opening the scoring with long-range golazo to register his seventh goal from outside the box since he entered the league in July 2019, most in MLS during that span.
Bou has given the Red Bulls fits in those two years, scoring in all three of his appearances and totaling three goals and one assist against the Revs’ conference rival. When these sides met just one month ago at Gillette Stadium, Bou bagged one goal and one assist in the Revs’ win.
Red Bulls forward Fábio
Brazilian forward Fábio has been a consistent contributor in his first season with the Red Bulls, leading the team with four assists and bagging his first MLS goal in last weekend’s win over Nashville. The 24-year-old is a commanding presence at 6-foot-4, and his skill was evident in his volley to open the scoring at Red Bull Arena.
Fábio started but saw just 45 minutes of action when the Red Bulls visited the Revs one month ago, registering three shots before he was replaced as Struber adjusted following a first-half red card.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
New England lists both Luis Caicedo and Christian Mafla as unavailable for Wednesday’s meeting with RBNY as both continue to recover from lower body injuries. Caicedo hasn’t featured since the 2019 regular season finale after missing all of 2020 with a knee injury, while Mafla has made one appearance in his first MLS season.
Bou, who missed the Revolution’s win over FC Cincinnati before the international break with a minor knock, returned to the starting XI this past weekend and marked the occasion with a wondergoal, opening the scoring against NYCFC with a full volley from outside the box, his third goal of the year.
Red Bulls
The visitors will be without several key pieces on Wednesday night, including center back Aaron Long, lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. He’ll be joined on the sidelines by Daniel Royer, Andrew Gutman, and Youba Diarra, all out injured. Omir Fernandez and Florian Valot are both listed as questionable.
Cristian Cásseres Jr., who has registered three goals in seven starts this season, will also be unavailable on Wednesday as he’s currently on international duty with Venezuela at Copa América.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena
“I think the last game, we made a lot of mistakes against a good team. You’re going to make mistakes against good teams – we’re aware of that. Yet, we didn’t put our heads down. We got a great lift psychologically and on the scoreboard from Matt Turner saving that penalty kick early in the game. Ended up giving up the lead twice, but the guys hung in there and we obviously scored an important third goal to gain all three points. Our team has a lot of character, they’re very competitive, and we think if we keep improving we’ll be a pretty good team towards the end of the year.”
New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner
“I think we started off slowly last time we played against [New York Red Bulls]. So, I think the key for this game will be to come out a lot stronger. We know that they play direct, we know that they like to battle and tackle, so we're going to have to be up for a physical game. This is no game to take our foot off the gas.”
