Orlando City (8-9-6, 30 pts.) is back at Exploria Stadium for the first time since its epic Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal triumph over the New York Red Bulls, taking on Bruce Arena’s New England Revolution (6-7-9, 27 pts.). The match, presented by Ford, 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 also 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
Key Additions - CF Giacomo Vrioni (Juventus), GK Djordje Petrovic (FK Cukaricki), LW Dylan Borrero (Atlético Mineiro), CB Omar Gonzalez (Toronto), LB/CB Christian Makoun (Charlotte FC)
Key Departures - CF Adam Buksa (RC Lens), GK Matt Turner (Arsenal), RW Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), CM Scott Caldwell (Real Salt Lake), CM Sebastian Lletget (FC Dallas), CF Jozy Alditore (Puebla, loan)
Take a look at New England’s full roster here.
News
The last time we saw the Revs back in mid-June, Lletget and Altidore were in the “Key Additions” section. Such is life in the summer transfer window – Lletget was traded to Dallas for a fistful of Allocation Money while Altidore was sent on loan to Puebla in Liga MX. The big addition for New England is Vrioni, a 23 year-old striker coming off a tremendously successful loan to WGS Tirol in the Austrian Bundesliga, where he had 19 goals in 28 league games.
Team Form
It seemed like everything went right for the Revs last year, with the team setting an MLS record for one-goal wins and breaking the league’s all-time points record en route to a 73-point season and the Supporters’ Shield. All that credit has come due this year. New England has struggled to hang onto leads, dropping a staggering 24 points from winning positions, seven more than any other team in the league. The Revs are winless in their last six games and have not won since June 19.
Head-to-Head
Two of those 24 points dropped by the Revs this year were to Orlando City, with Robin Jansson snagging an equalizer at Gillette Stadium on June 15 after Carles Gil opened the scoring. While the Lions’ overall 3-6-6 record in all competitions against the Revs isn’t particularly flattering, Orlando has been better against New England at home, going 2-0-4 in MLS regular-season play and 3-1-4 in all competitions.
Rasmussen University Fact
Oscar Pareja and Bruce Arena have history, competing against each other regularly since Pareja was hired as Colorado Rapids manager in 2012 while Arena was heading up the LA Galaxy. Perhaps their biggest game against each other came in the 2016 Open Cup, when Pareja’s FC Dallas defeated Arena’s Galaxy 2-1 by scoring twice in the final four minutes of extra time. Pareja and Dallas would go on to win the Open Cup with a 4-2 win over…the New England Revolution.
