Foxborough, Mass. – The New England Revolution are set to host CF Montréal tonight at Gillette Stadium. The match kicks off at 6:00 p.m. ET on WSBK-TV38, myRITV, 98.5 The Sports Hub and 1260 AM Nossa Radio.
Here is a closer look at today’s Revolution Starting XI. To view the Revolution’s complete match notes, click here.
Starting XI: GK Brad Knighton, D Christian Mafla, D Andrew Farrell, D Jon Bell, D Brandon Bye, M Matt Polster, M Wilfrid Kaptoum, M Arnór Traustason, M Carles Gil ©, F Gustavo Bou, F Adam Buksa
- Today’s starting group features four changes from Wednesday’s 5-0 win at Inter Miami, as Brandon Bye, Matt Polster, Wilfrid Kaptoum, and Gustavo Bou start in place of A.J. DeLaGarza, Maciel, Tommy McNamara, and Teal Bunbury.
- Brad Knighton collects his fourth consecutive start after back-to-back shutout performances. New England has not conceded a goal in 246 minutes of play dating back to July 7.
- Knighton looks to improve on a 2-1-0 record this season, which matches his all-time record against Montreal.
- Farrell makes his 255th regular season appearance, all with New England, to surpass Matt Reis (254) for third-place on the club’s all-time list. The ninth-year defender is 19 minutes away from leaping Luis Robles for the most MLS minutes played since he entered the league in 2013. He already leads all MLS players in starts and appearances since 2013.
- With Christian Mafla stepping in at left back, the backline combination of Mafla, Andrew Farrell, Jon Bell, and Brandon Bye starts together for the first time this season.
- New England’s trio of Designated Players –Gustavo Bou, Adam Buksa, and Carles Gil – starts together for the sixth time this season. The trio of international attackers has combined to total 16 goals and 16 assists through 15 games, factoring into 23 of the team’s MLS-best 28 goals this season.
- Buksa and Arnór Traustason registered their first braces in MLS in Wednesday’s 5-0 win at Inter Miami, earning MLS Team of the Week honors. Buksa’s two-goal performance placed the Polish striker in a tie with Bou (7) for the team lead in goals scored, while Traustason owns two goals and two assists over 14 appearances in his first MLS campaign.
- Gil, who earned a bench spot on the MLS Team of the Week for his two-assist outing in Wednesday’s win, remains the league leader in assists (12) and chances created (79). The Spanish midfielder is seven assists away from tying the club’s single-season assists record (19), and needs only three more game-winning assists to tie the MLS single-season record (8).
- Bou returns to the Starting XI after registering an assist in a 27-minute shift off the bench in Miami. The Argentinian forward owns two goals and one assist in four league appearances against Montréal, in addition to the game-winning strike in the 95th minute of New England’s 2-1 win in the play-in round of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs.
- Wilfrid Kaptoum makes his fourth start of the season. The Cameroon native is appearing in his third straight match, raising his total to nine games played this season.
- Matt Polster continues to appear in every game this season. The central midfielder is now five starts away from his 100th in MLS.
- Brandon Bye collects his 15th appearance of the season, starting all but one. The fourth-year outside back enters tonight’s match just 42 minutes away from eclipsing 7,000 minutes played in his MLS career.
- Jon Bell makes his second straight start and his seventh of the season. After picking up his first career assist in Wednesday’s win at Miami, Bell is now the first Revolution II product to score a goal and register an assist in MLS play.
Bench: GK Earl Edwards Jr., D A.J. DeLaGarza, M Maciel, M Tommy McNamara, M Scott Caldwell, M Emmanuel Boateng, F Teal Bunbury
- Tommy McNamara has played in every match this season, making seven starts. He owns one goal and three assists in 10 career games vs. Montreal.
- Teal Bunbury, who netted his second goal of the season in Wednesday’s win, owns a team-best three goals scored in 20 career games played against Montréal.
- A.J. DeLaGarza collected his first start in a Revolution uniform on Wednesday, playing all 90 minutes in the clean-sheet performance.
- Maciel has played in 11 games this season, including 10 starts.
- Goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. backs up Brad Knighton tonight as he makes his fourth appearance on New England’s matchday roster.
- On Wednesday, Homegrown midfielder Scott Caldwell came off the bench to register his third appearance of the season.