MLS Regular Season | Match #2
New England Revolution vs. FC Dallas
Saturday, March 5 | 1:30 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium | Foxborough, Mass.
Watch: WSBK-TV38 (English), myRITV (English)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
Revolution Kickoff (1 p.m. ET)
- Pregame coverage on WSBK-TV38 and streaming via CBS News Boston
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
T-6th in Eastern Conference (0-0-1, 1 pt.)
Last Result | 2-2 draw at Portland Timbers
For the second straight year the Revs opened the season with a 2-2 draw on the road, this time taking a point home from Portland and the defending Western Conference champion Timbers. Twice the Revs took the lead – first through Brandon Bye’s header and then through Sebastian Lletget’s debut goal – but the hosts hit back on both occasions to leave the sides level at the final whistle. Earl Edwards Jr. was also a standout performer for New England, making three big saves in his first MLS start since 2018.
Now the Revs return to Foxborough to kick off their home slate at Gillette Stadium, where they had the league’s best home record last season, going 12-2-3 during their record-breaking campaign. Saturday’s game begins a stretch in which the Revs will play three home games in eight days, including a Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal meeting with Liga MX side Pumas UNAM on Wednesday, March 9 (8 p.m. ET, TICKETS).
FC Dallas
T-6th in Western Conference (0-0-1, 1 pt.)
Last Result | 1-1 draw vs. Toronto FC
FC Dallas began the Nico Estévez era last weekend at Toyota Stadium, playing to a 1-1 draw with visiting Toronto FC. Jáder Obrian gave FCD the lead in just the ninth minute – assisted by offseason acquisition Paul Arriola – but TFC hit back on the stroke of halftime to leave the sides level.
Estévez was named FC Dallas head coach this past December after the Texan side finished 11th in the Western Conference last season, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2017. Last year’s leading scorer Ricardo Pepi – 13 goals and three assists in 31 appearances, including both goals in a 2-1 win over the Revs – has departed, joining Bundesliga side FC Augsburg in early January.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution defender Brandon Bye
Right back Brandon Bye began his fifth professional season in style last weekend, scoring the Revolution’s opening goal with a well-placed header from Carles Gil’s corner kick. Bye has been a consistent aerial threat for New England, and just this week sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena said Bye “has the potential to be one of the top right backs in the league.”
New England’s entire backline – but potentially Bye and fellow outside back DeJuan Jones in particular – will need to be prepared to deal with FC Dallas, which attacked in waves on the opening weekend.
FC Dallas midfielder Paul Arriola
One of Dallas’ biggest offseason acquisitions – along with 19-year-old attacker Alan Velasco – winger Paul Arriola arrives after spending the past five seasons with D.C. United, where he had 20 goals and 16 assists in 89 regular-season appearances. The 27-year-old was a factor on opening weekend, starting on the right wing and registering an assist just nine minutes into his FC Dallas debut.
Arriola will also be familiar with several Revolution players – and vice versa – after winning last summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup with the U.S. Men’s National Team alongside Matt Turner, Sebastian Lletget, and Henry Kessler.
STATUS REPORT
Revolution
Matt Turner seems set to miss a second straight game to start the season – officially listed as questionable with a lower leg injury – which could mean a second straight start for goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr., who earned widespread praise for his performance last weekend at Providence Park.
“We don’t expect Matt to play this weekend,” Arena said on Thursday. “Earl did very well I think in his first game with us in Portland, and we’re happy with the pool of goalkeepers we have, with our draft pick Jacob Jackson, as well as Brad Knighton.”
FC Dallas
The visitors will arrive in Foxborough mostly healthy, with only two players listed on their availability report: young midfielder Nicky Hernandez (bilateral leg fasciotomy) is out, while Designated Player forward Franco Jara (right knee sprain) is questionable.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
New England Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena
“We didn’t play well in Portland. We’ve just got to be better this weekend, better in every area. We had a decent first half I thought in Portland, but in the second half we didn’t play well. We’ve just got to get a little bit better. I think our preseason was not good enough to get us prepared for that game. I think Portland was way ahead of us in terms of their preparation. They looked like a fitter team, more synchronized, so we have to get better and that's certainly going to be our goal this week.”
New England Revolution forward Adam Buksa
“Playing at home is definitely an advantage for us to have our fans back in the stadium this weekend so we can play in front of them. But I don't want to focus too much on winning only at Gillette Stadium, because if we want to the keep getting results from last year, we need to win each and every game regardless of where it takes place. So, playing with home is a great thing and I can’t wait to play in front of our fans this weekend, but we cannot rely only on winning on our home field.”
