The New England Revolution continue their three-match homestand as they host Orlando City SC at Gillette Stadium.
A 3-1 victory over Miami last week stopped a five-match winless run for New England with Carles Gil picking up a goal and an assist in another standout performance.
The result kept the Revolution unbeaten at home this year (5-0-3), one of just three teams in MLS to lose at home in 2023.
Orlando continued their recent resurgence with a 2-0 win over Colorado last time out, extending their unbeaten run to six games while climbing to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Lions have been the league's best road team this season, going 4-1-2 on their travels while conceding just 17 goals overall, fifth fewest in MLS.
New England is 5-0-2 against Orlando at home since the Lions joined MLS in 2015.
Team news
Dylan Borrero (ACL surgery), Nacho Gil (right leg), Henry Kessler (hamstring surgery), Maciel (left Achilles), and Tommy McNamara (left leg) all remain out.
Christian Makoun (Venezuela), Djordje Petrovic (Serbia), and Damian Rivera (Costa Rica Under-23s) are currently on international duty.
Jozy Altidore was released on Thursday and the club exercised their buyout on his Salary Budget charge.
Noel Buck and Brandon Bye returned to training and both are expected to be available while Gustavo Bou returned to the starting lineup last week for the first time since April.
Wilder Cartagena (Peru), Pedro Gallese (Peru), Wilfredo Rivera (Puerto Rico), and Facundo Torres (Uruguay) are all away on international duty.
Two starting defenders will also be absent for the Lions as Antonio Carlos and Kyle Smith are both suspended because of yellow card accumulation.
Adam Grinwis (concussion protocol) and Abdi Salim (left knee) are sidelined.
Predicted lineups
New England Revolution: Petrovic; Farrell, Romney, Makoun; Jones, Blessing, Polster, Boateng; C. Gil; Wood, Vrioni
Orlando City SC: Stajduhar; Smith, Halliday, Jansson, Santos; Araujo, Martins; Enrique, Pereyra, Angulo; Kara
Ones to watch
Earl Edwards Jr. (New England Revolution)
With starting goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic away on international duty for Serbia, Edwards Jr. will get his first league start after starting both of New England's U.S. Open Cup matches.
Edwards Jr. did start four times early in 2022 and featured in both legs of the Concacaf Champions League meeting against Pumas UNAM last March.
The former Orlando shot-stopper made six starts with the Lions during a four-year stint from 2015-18.
Robin Jansson (Orlando City SC)
The Swedish center-back is one of four Orlando players to appear in all 16 MLS matches this season while also playing the most minutes (3,150) of any outfield player, showcasing his durability.
With Jansson's defense partner Antonio Carlos missing due to yellow card accumulation, the 31-year-old could be particularly valuable against a New England side that has scored 18 times in eight matches at home.
Previous meetings
Last August, New England dominated Orlando by a 3-0 scoreline to run their unbeaten run against the Lions to nine matches in all competitions since 2018.
In the 20th minute, the Revolution opened the scoring, McNamara sent a perfect through ball into the path of an onrushing Matt Polster and after splitting the defense, he beat Gallese.
The lead was doubled six minutes after halftime as a cross by McNamara found Wilfrid Kaptoum and he caught Gallese leaning the other way on a half-volley that found the bottom corner.
With quarter of an hour to go, Kessler got on the end of a Gil corner kick to complete the scoring.
How to watch
The match will be streamed nationally on Apple TV + with Steve Cangialosi serving as the play-by-play announcer and Danny Higginbotham on analyst duties.
Kickoff is set for 7:30pm Eastern time.