2026 Home opener Preview: RBNY Hosts New England Revolution at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 28

Michael Bradley and Red Bull New York caught the attention of the American soccer world with their 2-1 victory over Orlando City in their 2026 MLS season opener.

Notably, three high schoolers started in the match for New York and didn't just look competent, but were instrumental in the victory. Led by Julian Hall's two goals and Adri Mehmeti's assist, the kids are alright at RBNY (not to mention the absolute shift put in by Matty Dos Santos) and should be expected to put on a show in front of home supporters this coming Saturday.

In their way will be the New England Revolution, who fell 4-1 to the new and improved Nashville SC in their season opener last weekend. This matchup will mark the 88th all-time meeting between the two MLS originals, with the Revs holding a 37-33-17 record over their Northeast adversaries.

However, the Red Bulls have had the advantage over New England on home turf (26-9-9) and are generally successful in home openers in general (18-6-6).

Let's take a closer look at the matchup:

A closer look at the New England Revolution: 

The Revs looked outmatched in Matchday One against Nashville and particularly struggled with defensive organization, starting a unique back four in their MLS season opener.

It's a familiar feel to the New England side from 2025 with their key signings being limited to just forward Griffin Yow (from Belgian club Westerlo, formerly of DC United) and midfielder Brooklyn Raines (formerly of Houston Dynamo). However, among the returning players is star midfielder Carles Gil, Ecuadorian international striker Leo Campana, winger Dor Turgeman who is poised for a breakout season and Nigerian midfield Alhassan Yusuf.

The defense was in shambles against Nashville, though, particularly in the first half and it unfortunately kept the rest of the team out of the match (if not for a moment of magic between their dynamic duo of Gil and Campana).

Starting with veteran Andrew Farrell and former Stanford Cardinal Keegan Hughes in the center of defense, manager Marko Mitrovic was left without first choice center backs Mamadou Fofana and Brayan Ceballos.

With Fofana having acquired his green card and Ceballos recovered from a minor hamstring injury, the two have returned to training and can be expected to strengthen the defense against RBNY. On the flanks, youngster Ethan Kohler was perhaps one of the most impressive fixtures of the Revolution lineup, especially in defense. Will Sands struggled on the opposite side in place of the injured Peyton Miller and was replaced at halftime by former San Jose Earthquakes defender Tanner Beason. 

Beason played a few minutes at center back towards the end of the match as well before primary right back Ilay Feingold came on for a few minutes on the left.

Behind them, former USMNT No. 1 Matt Turner had a busy night and made a few big saves, but was hung out to dry repeatedly. I expect a shakeup of the starting XI in defense to give Turner some more support, but the team in front of them may look similar:

PROJECTED STARTING XI (4-3-3):

GK M. Turner

RB E. Kohler

CB M. Fofana

CB B. Ceballos

LB I. Feingold

CM B. Raines

CM A. Yusuf

AM C. Gil

RW D. Turgeman

ST L. Campana

LW G. Yow

Red Bull New York at a glance:

The vibes have not been this high since... well, I'm not quite sure. Maybe the 2024 MLS Cup run? That did have a "flukey" sort of feel to it, even if it was a run to the finals.

This time, everyone can see that there is a plan for sustained success and a clear identity on the field. The Red Bulls made it abundantly clear what it is they will try to do on the pitch - they are unapologetically aggressive, direct and suffocating while also being cognizant of possessing the ball. Stop me if this sounds familiar, but read on to see how it worked.

Their ability to attack from the wide areas on Saturday against Orlando was very apparent, with Jorge Ruvalcaba and Cade Cowell regularly combining with the full backs behind them (Dos Santos and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, respectively) to open up space in behind and drive at the defense, serve crosses or open up scoring opportunities for themselves.

Hall was in striker's heaven with the amount of service he was provided in the first half against Orlando. With all the chances the Red Bulls created, it really should have been worse than 2-0 at halftime.

And that's not to mention the midfield mobility of Ronald Donkor, the two-dimensional play of Forsberg (we've come to expect those ridiculous assists from him, but to be picking the ball of the center backs and starting attacks? That's new territory in a RBNY shirt), and the poise (both offensively and defensively) of Mehmeti. I think it's very possible Bradley starts another match with both Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Gustav Berggren on the bench.

With all the reasonable concerns about New York's defense throughout the offseason, the back four curtailed a lot of criticism after Saturday night's performance. Dylan Nealis and Justin Che looked more than competent as center backs, while Marshall-Rutty and Dos Santos were excellent on both sides of the ball. Omar Valencia was a bit shaky coming on as a substitute while Juan Mina almost added a third goal in his debut off the bench.

The back line will have a tougher task ahead of them dealing with Gil and Campana (Turgeman and Yow, as well), but I don't expect to see many changes in the XI considering how well they performed.

In goal, Ethan Horvath was superb, making six saves and helping the Red Bulls avoid a second-half collapse with some key stops.

Across the board, New York didn't look like losing that match for a single second, even when Orlando kicked it into second gear during the second 45. Credit to the leadership both on the field and beyond the lines, that sort of poise and composure is a welcome addition to an RBNY side that struggled with adversity in 2025, only managing to win twice away from home.

Don't expect many changes to the XI, Red Bulls fans. It will be difficult to justify using another short-term loan for Matty Dos Santos (especially after the signing of Joyeux Masanka Bungi), but otherwise I think it will be a mostly unchanged eleven. Here's what I think Michael Bradley will trot out against New England:

PROJECTED STARTING XI (4-3-3):

GK E. Horvath

RB J. Marshall-Rutty

CB J. Che

CB D. Nealis

LB O. Valencia

CDM A. Mehmeti

CM R. Donkor

CM E. Forsberg

RW C. Cowell

ST J. Hall

LW J. Ruvalcaba

Score Prediction

I was wrong last week. I said it'd be a goal fest and Orlando would win.

Well, it should have been a goal fest, but New York played the Lions off the park and forced Orlando City manager Oscar Pareja to apologize on behalf of his team's first half performance.

I think the Red Bulls follow up that masterclass in Orlando with another win in front of the home crowd. I'll say a 3-1 RBNY victory, goals to Ruvalcaba, Cowell and Forsberg. 

New England, despite their 4-1 loss to a strong Nashville side, should be hungry to follow up that defeat with a better result. And their roster is certainly in better shape than it was a year ago, even if they haven't fully sorted out the defense just yet.

Gil is still one of the best attacking mids MLS has to offer and I think he'll find a way to sneak past the NY defense to assist Campana to make the game interesting. Still riding the high of that youthful win in Orlando, I expect New York to be able to secure the three points.