Who: Philadelphia Union (1st place, 6 points, 2-0-0) vs. New England Revolution (11th place, 1 point, 0-1-1)
What: 2025 regular season game
Where: Gillette Stadium
When: Saturday, March 8, 7:30 PM
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+, Listen in on 97.5 FM
Whistle: Fotis Bazakos, Logan Brown, Adam Wienckowski, Jeremy Scheer, VAR: Geoff Gamble, Robert Schaap

Photo by Ryan McElroy.

The Philadelphia Union have entered the 2025 MLS season on a hot streak, scoring 8 goals in their first 2 matches of the year in statement wins on the road at Orlando City and at home against FC Cincinnati. Tai Baribo has scored 5 of those 8 goals so far and looks eager to build on his scoring form.

They travel north this weekend to Gilette Stadium to take on a Revolution side that has yet to score a goal this season. While yes, it’s still early in the season, the only other teams that have not scored are St. Louis and Nashville, the Union’s next two opponents after the Revs. 

If both of these teams’ last two performances are anything to go by, this match should look identical to the Union’s last trip to Gillette, which resulted in a 3-0 win even with Oliver Semmle in the net. 

Scouting Report: New England Revolution

The Revs finished 14th in the East last season, and have overhauled their squad in this Winter transfer window. They’ve brought in 18 new players, including some quality firepower in former Inter Miami man Leo Campana and forward Ignatius Ganago on loan from FC Nantes of Ligue 1, but the pair have yet to find the net so far in MLS play. These players are still becoming acclimated with each other and with coach Caleb Porter’s philosophy, so growing pains are expected. That’s not to say they’ve not held up on the defensive end, however. They’ve conceded only one goal so far in MLS play. 

In week 2, the Revs fell 1-0 at home to the Columbus Crew. The lone goal was scored in the 51st minute by the Crew’s Jacen Russell-Lowe on a counterattack that mirrored how the Union has been scoring as of late: passes in quick succession moving directly up the field, followed by a quick shot. 

New England will try to counter the Union’s high-pressing system, which favors the counterattack, by resting defense when out of possession and using the ball to play through the Union’s lines.  Attacking chances will be few, and they will need to capitalize when they can. They’re going to want to pick their moments when sending their fullbacks up the pitch so they are not caught out of position on the Union’s counterattacks. 

New England, like the Union, is participating in the U.S. Open Cup only this season, meaning they do not have any schedule congestion at this time. Their only injury concerns are forward Tomás Chancalay, who is nursing an ACL tear and was training separately from the team on Thursday morning, and homegrown left-back Peyton Miller, who is expected to rejoin the team in training next week. 

Goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic suffered a dislocated finger during last week’s match against Columbus, but he stayed in the match and trained fully this week. The Revolution does not see it as a concern, but it is still something to watch out for. 

• Player Availability: Tomás Chancalay- Knee (Out), Peyton Miller- (Out)

Scouting Report: Philadelphia Union

The Boys in Blue have scored eight goals in their last two matches. That momentum should not stop against a side like New England, where the Union has won four of the last five meetings between the sides, and outscored the Revs a combined 13-4 in those matches. 

Bradley Carnell’s system should continue to be threatening on the counterattack and force mistakes in the Revolution defense. As the team becomes more comfortable, the errors that led to goals against in previous matches should, in theory, lessen in frequency. Gillette Stadium is a large artificial turf field, meaning the ball will move more quickly and have a bit farther to roll than it did last week at Subaru Park. This may impact the effectiveness of the press.

The pregame press conference on Thursday confirmed that Nathan Harriel is no longer injured, but he missed the preseason and is still working towards being fit to play 90 minutes. Frankie Westfield has had no issue filling the right-back position, but being an off-roster homegrown means he is limited to only six MLS appearances on short-term loan callups until he is moved to the senior or supplemental roster. The Union has already used two of these six short-term loans. Carnell also mentioned that Ian Glavinovich is “day-to-day” with his hamstring injury and needed to step away from training on Thursday. 

Expect the same high-scoring and high-pressing Union squad we’ve seen in the previous two matches under Carnell. They will continue to work on their intensity and transition through the press. 

• Player Availability: Markus Anderson – Ankle (OUT), Ian Glavinovich (Questionable). 

Key Matchup: Olwethu Makhanya vs. New England’s Offense

Makhanya’s ability to adapt to MLS play in his first two starts for the Union has been crucial to the Union’s new defensive line. The young center-back’s speed is something the Union has been lacking in recent years and is essential to the team’s new style of play under Bradley Carnell. 

Against Orlando and Cincinnati, the only times the Union conceded were when Makhanya seemed to have “turned off” and was either slow to close down on an attacker with the ball, or was just caught ball-watching entirely. He held his own against Kevin Denkey last week but will need to stay sharp and shut down Leo Campana, Ignatius Ganago, and Luca Langoni. Doing so will only boost his confidence, and his ability will become less and less worrisome as the season progresses. 

Player to Watch: Tai Baribo

The Israeli striker became the 4th player in MLS history to score 5 goals in the first two matches of the season with his hat trick against FC Cincinnati last week and shows no signs of slowing down his scoring form. 

He had a hat trick in the Union’s 5-1 home win against the Revs last July before making way for Cavan Sullivan’s record debut. 

If he scores just one goal against New England on Saturday, he will become the second player in league history to score 6 goals in the first 3 matches of an MLS campaign. Ante Razov was the first to do it in 1999 for the Chicago Fire. 

Prediction: 3-1 Union

The Union should not struggle to score in this game. However, as they continue to adapt to Coach Carnell’s high-pressing, high-intensity style of play, errors can and will occur as players track back into their defensive third. Matchups between these two sides have been exciting for a long time, and this one will certainly not disappoint.