Last year was certainly one to forget for those of a New England Revolution persuasion. Bruce Arena’s side failed to make the playoffs and were made to watch on as their fellow MLS teams fought for the biggest honour in the league. There seems to be a fair amount of optimism amongst Revs fans this time around and there have been notable comings and goings in the squad. Here is the LWOS New England Revolution 2023 preview!
What to Expect From the New England Revolution 2023 Team
Winter Transfers
Starting things first with the off-season moves made by Bruce Arena and co and there are a few worth mentioning. A number of players have departed on free transfers, one of which being Ismael Tajouri-Shradi whose stay at the club was nothing short of a disaster. Wilfrid Kaptoum and AJ DeLaGarza also moved on free of charge, joining Spanish side Las Palmas and LA Galaxy respectively.
On the other end of it, the Revolution have again gone for players with MLS experience. Centre-back Dave Romney makes the move over from Nashville SC, replacing Jon Bell who joined the newest addition to the league St Louis City SC in the expansion draft. Also, MLS Cup and two-time Supporters’ Shield winner Latif Blessing arrives from LAFC plus there is Hawaii-born striker Bobby Wood too.
The Fixtures to Keep an Eye on
One of the most exciting dates every year in the life of a sports fan is that of the release of the schedule. Whilst the Revolution are the only team playing out of Massachusetts, they still have some very meaningful rivalries in MLS.
New York City FC are a club who have enjoyed some very fierce and exciting encounters with Arena’s men. These two will go to battle in the big apple in early June, but not before they face off at Gillette Stadium on the first weekend of April.
The season begins with a trip to Charlotte as the side from North Carolina enter their second season in the league. Charlotte and former Atlanta United defender Anton Walkes sadly passed away last month and so that will be a very poignant day indeed.
Let's come together #ForAnton💙
Help us celebrate the life of a beloved father, teammate and friend.https://t.co/UPTplwHmas
— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) January 23, 2023
St Louis are the newest additions but as they are a member of the Western Conference, a regular season clash between them and New England isn’t on the cards. The final game before the playoffs for the Revs will be against the Philadelphia Union at Gillette.
A Defence in Demand
Recent seasons have seen a number of major assets depart Foxborough. Adam Buksa, Matt Turner and Tajon Buchanan are the three highest profile sales who went to Europe and they could soon be joined by former teammates who make up this New England Revolution 2023 roster. DeJuan Jones is one such player, his hard work being rewarded by his first two USMNT caps in the most recent camp.
🚨DeJuan Jones' first cap with @USMNT 🚨
AND THAT'S THE TWEET!!🇺🇸🆚🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/MJ3LqPMC60
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) January 26, 2023
Another is Serbian shot-stopper Djordje Petrovic, who didn’t skip a beat when being thrown in at the deep-end to replace the Arsenal-bound Turner. Turner rose to prominence in his last season or two in Major League Soccer and swiftly became the best in his position. Petrovic has done so in a much shorter period of time and he himself, like Jones, has received a national team call-up as a result.
The pair were two of the best performers for the Revs in what was a tough 2022 season and they could well play a major role in shaping what the current team looks like that. That as if they don’t move on to Europe first, they both attracted interest in January and this will surely be the case again in the summer.
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Who is the New England Revolution 2023 Player to Watch?
There are a few players worth keeping tabs on this year for the Revs with aforementioned goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic at the fore of this. Also there though is forward Giacomo Vrioni, who is yet to make an impact in MLS.
Vrioni joined from Italian giants Juventus and that in itself should be a huge stamp of approval for an MLS club. Injuries stunted the Albanian international’s growth in the States and so he accumulated very few minutes last term. Gustavo Bou isn’t getting any younger and Jozy Altidore looks to be past his best, so the goal scoring responsibilities are set to fall primarily to Vrioni along with his captain Carles Gil.
New England Revolution 2023 Prediction
These last two years have been polar opposites in New England. Very few fans would have predicted them to have a record-breaking 2021 and then even fewer would have been thinking they’d follow that up with a tenth-placed finish in the Eastern Conference.
This time around, it seems safe enough to say that it will likely end up somewhere in between. A home playoff game should be the goal for this New England Revolution side as they have unmatched quality in certain areas, but I’m going to say that they instead end up occupying one of the lower playoff berths, so between 5th and 7th.
Whatever happens, it promises to be another wildly enticing season in the chaotic league that is MLS.
