FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution (7-12-1; 22 pts.), winners in five of their last seven games, return home to host Orlando City SC (7-9-6; 27 pts.) on Saturday, July 13 at Gillette Stadium. The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff and every MLS contest on Matchday 26 will be free to watch on Apple TV in English and Spanish. Listen to the Revolution’s local radio calls on 98.5 The Sports Hub (WBZ-FM), also available nationally on SiriusXM FC (Channel 157), and 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA in Portuguese.
Saturday will mark the first of two meetings between New England and Orlando this season. The two sides split the season series in 2023, with the home team winning on both occasions. New England owns a 7-3-7 edge in the all-time regular season series, including a 6-0-2 mark at home. Last season, New England knocked off the Lions, 3-1, in Foxborough. The Revolution are carrying strong home form into this weekend’s match, with victories in three of their last four games at Gillette Stadium.
Revolution forward Giacomo Vrioni is in top form as he leads New England into the intraconference clash, with five goals in as many matches including a pair of multi-goal performances. The Albanian striker owns a team-best 10 goals in all competitions this season, and ranks tied for third leaguewide in shots (25) and shots on target (12) since June 1. With injuries to captain Carles Gil and forward Dylan Borrero affecting the attack, Head Coach Caleb Porter has turned to Esmir Bajraktarevic for an offensive spark in recent weeks, as the Homegrown player targets his seventh straight start. On the season, Bajraktarevic has already set MLS-career highs with 17 appearances, 13 starts, and two goals in regular season action.
New England enters the week on the back of a three-game stretch that concluded with a West Coast visit to meet Seattle Sounders FC last Saturday. In the match, defender Brandon Bye made his first start since August 2023, playing 61 minutes in his fourth consecutive appearance. Defender Xavier Arreaga faced his former club for the first time since being traded to New England in April, logging 87 minutes in his 12th straight start for the club. However, Arreaga is suspended for this Saturday’s contest against Orlando due to yellow card accumulation. Porter has a battery of experienced defenders to turn to in his place, including Dave Romney and Henry Kessler, both of whom have logged double-digit starts in central defense.
Orlando enters the weekend having won three of its last four contests, including a 5-0 triumph over D.C. United last Saturday. The Lions have tallied multiple goals in each of their last five matches, ascending to seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, only five points above New England with two more games played. Leading the lines for Orlando this season are Duncan McGuire and Nico Lodeiro. McGuire has a team-high seven goals this season, and owns 20 total tallies in his 48-game MLS career. Lodeiro, in his first season with the club after eight seasons in Seattle, has eight assists already. Head Coach Oscar Pareja, in his fifth season at the helm of Orlando and his 12th in MLS, owns 166 career victories – sixth-most in league history.
In addition to regular contributors Bajraktarevic and Noel Buck, another product of the Revolution’s pro pathway has been stepping up in recent weeks as the team battles through its injury woes. After Borrero was pulled from the starting lineup at Seattle with a last-minute ailment, 20-year-old Jack Panayotou stepped into the starting lineup for his first MLS start of the 2024 campaign. The Cambridge, Mass. native has logged 14 league appearances to date, three this season. In MLS NEXT Pro, Panayotou has tallied three goals and one assist in four starts.
Make-A-Wish Night: Make-A-Wish® Massachusetts and Rhode Island, in partnership with the New England Revolution foundation, will be hosting “Make-A-Wish Night” at Gillette Stadium this Saturday. In celebration of the Make-A-Wish mission of granting life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses, a portion of ticket proceeds purchased by Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island supporters will go towards the organization’s mission.
