Real Salt Lake Travels East For Date With New England Revolution In Foxborough

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake will look to remain undefeated in 2022 as they brace for the first of four Eastern Conference road tests opening with the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium this upcoming Saturday afternoon.

Continued Destruction For RSL

Real Salt Lake has navigated through the opening two weeks of the season smoothly, despite being severely injured to start the season. Sadly, the injury report continues to grow for Pablo Mastroeni and his men as Zac MacMath has been listed as questionable ahead of the fixture despite playing pivotal roles throughout the opening two weeks of the season. MacMath was seen boarding the airplane thanks to a video posted by Real Salt Lake on Twitter.

Time for takeoff 🛫 pic.twitter.com/BYv25YArN1

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) March 11, 2022

In short, Nick Besler is the only player of note that is listed as out.

Captain Damir Kreilach is expected to play despite being a game-time scratch last week with a calf strain. It remains unknown if Rubio Rubin is fit enough following preseason groin surgery or if Aaron Herrera and David Ochoa have recovered from right groin injuries.

As unnerving as the Real Salt Lake injury report may be, the club, thanks to the guidance and leadership of Mastroeni and Kreilach have been able to put two very impressive performances together.

The team is unified and has been playing as a collective group.

Tired Revs’ Legs

Fortunately, Real Salt Lake’s history is promising at Gillette Stadium having secured four wins, two draws, and three losses over its history. To make matters better for Real Salt Lake this weekend, they will be playing a New England Revolution team that played a midweek CONCACAF Champions League fixture against LIGA MX side Pumas UNAM in which Revs’ manager Bruce Arena started a full-strength XI.

Taking our talents east.#NEvRSL | @AFCU pic.twitter.com/HixWWxMm6g

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) March 11, 2022

The four most dangerous players for New England Revolution in Sebastian Lletget, Carles Gil, Adam Buksa, and Gustavo Bou saw starts against Pumas UNAM and three days earlier against FC Dallas, suggesting that Arena will be forced to make some changes. It seems likely that Jozy Altidore will get the start at the point of the attack.

Caldwell Returns Home

The fixture also marks the first match back for Real Salt Lake’s Scott Caldwell who appeared in 229 games for New England between 2013 and 2021. Caldwell, 30, was acquired by Real Salt Lake during the most recent offseason and has made an immediate impact solidifying the heart of the midfield.

“There is a whole bunch of things that I am excited for, one, of course, to see all the fans that I played in front of and grew up with,” Caldwell said when asked what he is most looking forward to when it comes to returning home. “Also just to see all my former teammates and buddies over there and to be able to play against them and of course my family and friends who will be there. Just being able to connect with people back home for a little bit,” he added.

Mastroeni & Arena Go Way Back

Caldwell is not the only Real Salt Lake representative with close ties to the New England Revolution. Mastroeni played for Arena at two FIFA World Cups while Arena was in charge of the national team. Both Arena and Mastroeni have known one another for a long time and have a rich history working with each other.

Bruce still got it 💰 pic.twitter.com/1zofepsINC

— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) March 11, 2022

Both clubs sit in fifth place in their respective conferences. Both clubs began the season with a point on the road before picking up all three points in their home opener during the second week. The start to the season for both clubs has been very similar.

Match Info

Real Salt Lake and New England Revolution will kick off from Gillette Stadium at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 12.

The match will be available to stream for free via the KSL Sports & KSL 5 TV apps or on KSL Sports dot com.