MLS Regular Season | Match #2
New England Revolution vs. D.C. United
Saturday, April 24 | 8 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: myTV38, myRITV (Rhode Island)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), WBIX 1260 Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
Revolution Pregame Live (7:15 p.m. ET)
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CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
T-3rd in Eastern Conference (0-0-1, 1 pt.)
Last Result | 2-2 draw at Chicago Fire FC
It was a wild start to the Revolution’s 2021 campaign last Saturday night as they played to a 2-2 draw at Chicago Fire FC, with all four goals coming inside the first 27 minutes. New England conceded in both the fifth and 11th minutes but responded well with goals from Adam Buksa and Gustavo Bou, while they almost claimed the full three points when rookie forward Edward Kizza crashed a header off the crossbar in the dying stages.
Head coach Bruce Arena praised the Revolution’s ability to bounce back from a slow start, and now they’ll be targeting a better 90-minute performance when they host D.C. on Saturday night. The match marks the long-awaited return of fans to Gillette Stadium, where the Revs are aiming to restore their home-field advantage after going 3-3-4 without fans in Foxborough last year.
D.C. United
T-1st in Eastern Conference (1-0-0, 3 pts.)
Last Result | 2-1 win vs. New York City FC
D.C. United began the Hernán Losada era in winning fashion last weekend, coming from behind to claim a 2-1 victory over New York City FC at Audi Field. Brendan Hines-Ike and Russell Canouse were the goal scorers for D.C., who made things difficult for NYCFC despite conceding 62 percent of the possession to the visitors.
The 38-year-old Losada, who arrived in the Nation’s Capital this past offseason after a stint as manager of Belgian side Beerschot, has said that he wants his D.C. side to be “annoying” to play against, and they lived up to that expectation in their opener against NYCFC.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution forward Adam Buksa
Adam Buksa’s impressive preseason – three goals and a penalty drawn in four appearances – carried into the regular season opener last weekend, when he scored the Revolution’s opening goal with a powerful header and was one of New England’s most dangerous weapons both on set pieces and through the run of play.
Buksa will be hoping to continue that form on Saturday against a D.C. United side that he found success against last year, scoring three goals in four appearances, including in each of the two most recent meetings in September and November of 2020.
D.C. United defender Brendan Hines-Ike
One of D.C.’s newest arrivals for the 2021 season is 26-year-old defender Brendan Hines-Ike, who began his MLS career with a stunning 30-yard rocket to open the scoring for United last weekend. Hines-Ike was one of two new signings in D.C.’s starting XI against NYCFC, along with fellow center back Antonio Alfaro.
Hines-Ike won’t be expected to score long-distance screamers every weekend, but he is a threat on set pieces and will likely be tasked with helping to slow down the Revolution’s forward tandem of Buksa and Gustavo Bou.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
New England appealed the red card issued to DeJuan Jones late in last weekend’s season opener, but that appeal was denied by the Independent Review Panel, meaning that Jones will be suspended for Saturday’s meeting with D.C. United. Arena mentioned offseason addition Christian Mafla, versatile veteran A.J. DeLaGarza, and recent Revolution II promotion Jon Bell as options to take over for Jones at left back.
The only other player appearing on the Revs’ availability report is Luis Caicedo, listed as questionable with a lower body injury. Fellow central midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum said he is “in perfect condition now to compete” after debuting off the bench last weekend in Chicago, while Maciel is also back in full training after missing the opener through injury.
Recent arrival Arnór Traustason is also in line for a debut on Saturday night, having completed his weeklong quarantine process before joining the squad in training earlier this week.
“He’ll definitely play on Saturday to some extent,” Arena said of the winger. “He’s looked good in training, he’s fit in well with the team, and you can see he’s an experienced player with a good understanding of the game, technically very good. We look forward to his contributions.”
D.C. United
The visitors list no fewer than 11 players as unavailable for Saturday’s match, including several players like Paul Arriola, Steve Birnbaum, Bill Hamid, Ola Kamara, Chris Odoi-Atsem, Kevin Paredes, Donovan Pines, Yordy Reyna, and Griffin Yow, who would all be expected to have roles to play when healthy. Rookies Michael DeShields and Jacob Greene are also listed as unavailable.
D.C. dug into their depth for last weekend’s win over NYCFC, getting a solid performance from veteran goalkeeper Chris Seitz (three saves), while also leaning on the presence of players like Julian Gressel and Russell Canouse, who combined on United’s game-winning goal.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution head coach Bruce Arena
“D.C. United is coming off of a very good win at home against a good team in New York City FC, so I think they’ll come into Foxborough with a lot of confidence. They’ll be a tough team to play – they play with a lot of energy, a lot of commitment on the defensive end of the field, and they’re going to be a team that’s difficult to break down.”
New England Revolution forward Teal Bunbury
“(Being better at home) is our goal and I think having fans in the stands is going to be a big proponent of that. I think missing out on having fans giving us that extra boost when we need it most was kind of detrimental to us, so I think that’s something we’ve been stressing already this week and even preseason just knowing we’ve got to solidify home-field advantage, that it’s going to be difficult for most teams coming in here and playing against us. So that’s going to be super important for us for this first game at home and throughout the season.”
