Orlando City (6-5-3, 21 pts.) returns from the June international break this Wednesday night, traveling up to Gillette Stadium for a midweek encounter. The match is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised locally on FOX35 PLUS and LionNation TV, with pre-game coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Local radio coverage will be available from 7 p.m. ET on FM 96.9 the Game in English and Acción 97.9 FM in Spanish.
Here’s everything you need to know about New England:
Key Transactions and Player News
Key Additions - CM Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy), CF Jozy Alditore (Toronto), CB Omar Gonzalez (Toronto), GK Djordje Petrovic (FK Cukaricki), LW Dylan Borrero (Atlético Mineiro)
Key Departures - CF Adam Buksa (RC Lens), GK Matt Turner (Arsenal), RW Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), CM Scott Caldwell (Real Salt Lake)
News - New England is saying farewell to two of its core players this month, with Polish striker Adam Buksa sold to RC Lens in the French top flight and American international keeper Matt Turner headed to Arsenal in the English Premier League. Buksa scored 29 goals in 64 MLS matches for the Revs and was integral in their Supporters’ Shield triumph last year, but Turner is arguably the bigger loss, winning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021 and emerging as a potential No. 1 option for the United States men’s national team. The Revs went with DP forward Gustavo Bou, normally a winger or second forward, as the No. 9 on Sunday against Sporting Kansas City, while Djordje Petrovic stepped in as Turner’s replacement.
Take a look at New England’s full roster here.
Team Form
While they’re losing major personnel, the Revs have been red hot over the past six weeks, going six matches unbeaten in league play after a 2-5-1 start. They topped SKC 2-1 on Sunday, with Emanuel Boateng scoring an 87th-minute winner to overcome a 10-man Kansas City side. Buksa scored five goals over the first four games of that streak, while Bou has picked up the last with goals in each of the last two.
Head-to-Head
Orlando City has struggled with New England over the years, going 3-6-5 in all competitions against the Revs. Notably, the Lions have never won at Gillette Stadium, the only Eastern Conference venue at which Orlando has not claimed three points (excluding Charlotte FC’s Bank of America Stadium, where City has never played).
Rasmussen University Fact
New England has been a classic victim of Supporters’ Shield hangover this season. Excluding the seasons around the shortened 2020 campaign, Supporters’ Shield winners have averaged a 15.7-point drop from the previous year’s finish over the past decade. The most precipitous fall came from Toronto FC in 2018, who plunged 33 points from their historic treble-winning 2017 season and missed the playoffs the following year.
