Both aiming to continue unbeaten streaks and climb their respective Major League Soccer conference standings, New England Revolution and San Jose Earthquakes will do battle at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts played out a draw last time out after five straight victories in all competitions, while their visitors are undefeated in their last four outings.
Match preview
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New England Revolution head back to Gillette Stadium on Saturday aiming to bounce back to winning ways in Major League Soccer and extend an impressive run of form, having recovered from a dismal start to the season in recent weeks.
The Revs earned just four points from their first six outings of the 2025 campaign, with the only victory in that time coming between four defeats, but they appear to have turned a corner since, firstly ending that tough spell with consecutive triumphs over Atlanta United and New York City FC.
Caleb Porter's side would extend that run to four straight league victories and clean sheets by seeing off Charlotte FC and Toronto on the road, before visiting Rhode Island in the US Open Cup and booking a round-of-16 spot with a 2-1 away triumph thanks to goals from Tomas Chancalay and Cristiano Oliveira.
Aiming to make it six victories a row and five in Major League Soccer, they most recently visited Orlando City on Sunday and were, at least, able to leave with a share of the spoils, having pulled the game back to 2-2 through Alhassan Yusuf and Matt Polster and 3-3 through a Carles Gil penalty five minutes from time.
Having now moved up to 10th spot in the Eastern Conference with that upturn in form, one point behind ninth-placed New York City FC and two behind seventh-placed Charlotte FC, New England Revolution will aim to continue their unbeaten streak and climb up the division on Saturday.
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They meet a visiting side in a similar standing in the MLS' Western Conference, having cracked the top seven recently thanks to their own improvement.
Following a 14th-placed conference finish last year, San Jose Earthquakes also made a slow start to the 2025 Major League Soccer campaign, earning just 10 points from their first 10 games culminating in three straight losses at the hands of Los Angeles FC, Sporting Kansas City and Columbus Crew.
The Quakes would bounce back to winning ways in style in early May, hosting Portland Timbers and dishing out a 4-1 beating, before also advancing to the US Open Cup final 16 with a 2-1 home triumph over Sacramento Republic.
On their return to league action, Bruce Arena's side visited Colorado Rapids and put another three points on the board in a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from DeJuan Jones and Cristian Arango, before most recently hosting Inter Miami and also playing out a 3-3 draw similarly to their hosts at the weekend.
The Quakes initially fell behind in that contest but would lead 2-1 through Cristian Arango and Beau Leroux and 3-2 through Ian Harkes, only to have to share the points following Tadeo Allende's leveller, and now sitting seventh in the Western Conference with 17 points on the board, they will hope to strengthen their standing in the playoff spots by extending the unbeaten run with a third win in four league outings.
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Team News
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New England Revolution will remain without Malcolm Fry on Saturday due to an ongoing injury, while Tomas Chancalay and Luca Langoni were also absent for their draw with Orlando City and could miss out again at the weekend.
The Revs may be unchanged from that 3-3 draw, with captain Carles Gil continuing to play a key role in the attacking setup having already netted six MLS goals this season after notching up 11 goals and eight assists in 2023 and seven goals and five assists last year.
He should operate behind the front two of Ignatius Ganago and Leonardo Campana, while Matt Polster and Alhassan Yusuf will continue in the engine room of their 3-4-1-2 setup having both got on the scoresheet last time out.
San Jose Earthquakes should field a similar starting XI to their 3-3 draw against Inter Miami given their recent improvement, with Noel Buck, Niko Tsakiris and Bruno Wilson remaining confined to the treatment room.
Cristian Arango will hope to lead their line, having scored five goals in his last five MLS appearances to move onto nine in his debut campaign for the Quakes, after netting 17 alongside 13 assists for Real Salt Lake last time around, but he is a fresh doubt after being forced off in the first half last time out.
Ian Harkes and Beau Leroux will continue their midfield partnership after both getting on the scoresheet against Inter Miami last weekend, while Josef Martinez, who has managed six goals of his own so far this term, will join Cristian Espinoza and Ousseni Bouda in a front three if Arango is not deemed fit to start.
New England Revolution possible starting lineup:
Ivacic; Beason, Ceballos, Fofana; Feingold, Polster, Yusuf, Muller; Gil; Campana, Ganago
San Jose Earthquakes possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Rodrigues, Romney, Munie; Jones, Harkes, Leroux, Costa; Espinoza, Martinez, Bouda
We say: New England Revolution 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes
Saturday's contest promises to be an intriguing one between two sides enjoying hot streaks, and we give a slight edge to the hosts, particularly if the visitors are without danger man Arango.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
