Match Preview: Nashville SC vs New England Revolution
(Image courtesy of Nashville SC)
Good morning to all across the Southeast, I’m sure you feel that Christmas morning feeling in the air, which can only mean one thing. Another season of Major League Soccer is here! Ten months of soccer awaits, this time with 30 clubs, as we welcome San Diego FC to the party.
In the Music City, for the fifth time in six seasons, Nashville SC opens the season at home, this time against New England Revolution. In season openers, Nashville has a record of two wins, two draws and one loss, that of course coming in the club’s very first game in Major League Soccer all the way back in 2020.
This is also Nashville’s third successive home game on opening day, having defeated NYCFC in 2023 by a score of 2-0, followed by a scoreless draw with the latter club’s Hudson River Derby counterparts, the New York Red Bulls in 2024.
Nashville and New England met three times in 2024, with the Revs stealing all six points in the league, and picking up a penalty shootout victory against the Boys in Gold in Leagues Cup.
All time, these clubs have played nine fixtures against one another, with the Revs winning three, Nashville winning two and four of those contests ending in a draw.
To Nashville’s credit however, both of their two wins all time against New England came at home, most recently in 2023 courtesy of two goals from Sam Surridge and the final career goal from the recently retired MLS legend Dax McCarty.
These clubs both enter this game with a feeling of renewal. Nashville General Manager Mike Jacobs has said he and head coach BJ Callaghan refer to their collective efforts to evolve the club this offseason as “Nashville SC 2.0”.
A few yards down the touchline, Revs head coach Caleb Porter has echoed similar sentiments following his own offseason of roster shakeups, telling Peyton Doyle of MassLive.com, “We felt it was important to refresh the roster and to bring in some new blood and enter a new era. To get players that for right or wrong are a little bit more of the profile that can play in my game model.”
Enough about the offseason though, let’s dive into this game together.
Injury Report
Nashville SC
OUT: Bryan Acosta, Maximus Ekk, Tyler Boyd, Gastón Brugman, Julian Gaines
QUESTIONABLE: Jacob Shaffelburg, Patrick Yazbek
New England Revolution
OUT: Tomás Chancalay, Peyton Miller, Matt Polster
QUESTIONABLE: None
Lineup Prediction
Injuries have been particularly hard on Nashville’s midfield in this one, with Bryan Acosta, Patrick Yazbek and Gastón Brugman all either out entirely or unlikely to start. That theoretically gives a Nashville debut to former Birmingham Legion midfielder Matthew Corcoran, who starts alongside fellow newcomer Eddi Tagseth in the center of the park.
I’ve got Hany Mukhtar down as a number 10 here on paper, but expect Mukhtar to control the entire right hand half space, at times acting as both a second forward and third central midfielder.
On the wings, again, injuries have forced our hand here a bit. Jacob Shaffelburg would get the nod over Jonathan Pérez in normal circumstances, but given his injury designation he misses the Theoretical XI. Tyler Boyd figures to slot into one of these roles as well as we progress into the summer once he returns from an ACL injury he suffered last season.
Up top, of course it’s Sam Surridge, who else. No discussion needed here. At the back, we get one final debutant as Andy Najar makes his return to Major League Soccer, though as Julian Gaines gets healthy Najar’s spot in the starting lineup shouldn’t be rock solid.
In the center of defense it’s a familiar pairing in Walker Zimmerman and Jack Maher, with Dan Lovitz joining them on the left, and of course, in goal, the mustache-clad brick wall himself Joe Willis.
Prediction
Prediction: Nashville SC 2-0 New England Revolution, goals scored by Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge
Analysis: Opening days are hard to predict. A million and one things can happen, and ten months from now when we’ve crowned our latest MLS Cup Champion, we probably won’t be talking about this game. These games can often come down to home field advantage, and that happens to reside with the Boys in Gold on this cold February Saturday night. I’ll say Nashville get their first in the first half, and go into the break up by that one goal. New England will put pressure on the home side, but Nashville swipe a second goal to put the result beyond doubt, and allow themselves to coast to the finish line, perhaps subbing on even more debutants, such as Adem Sipic, Chris Applewhite, and Jeisson Palacios.