Scouting New England: 5 things to know about the Revs

New York City FC remains on the road for a second of three straight away matches, this time facing the New England Revolution on Sunday. To learn more about the Revs, New York Soccer Journal spoke to Jake Catanese of The Blazing Musket: Here is your New England vs NYCFC preview.

1. Marko Mitrović changed the culture

New York Soccer Journal: In its first season under Marko Mitrović, New England is fourth in the Eastern Conference and looks primed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2023. What has Mitrović done to turn things around in Foxborough?

Jake Catanese: It's been a combination of the old adage Keep It Simple, Stupid and just overall positivity. Mitrović's resume has largely been one of development and he's been able to bring in a lot of players he's familiar with from the USYNT ranks and clearly his message is getting across to the roster as a whole. It's been a lot of little positive growths that in the first half of the year just added up to the team getting a lot of results even when they weren't always playing their best.

Will Sands has emerged as a legit starting fullback option, Ethan Kohler has locked down a starting center-back spot to the level the Revs felt comfortable trading away Brayan Ceballos, Brooklyn Raines has emerged at holding mid with hat trick hero Alhassan Yusuf. The Revs got a lot younger this offseason and there were a lot of questions as to how talented this group was and how quickly they could gel, and even in a recent loss to Toronto, they played really well. If the Revs can get healthy, I think people are going to start asking very serious questions about how far this team might be able to go in November.

2. Better at home

NYSJ: New England has totaled 33 points this season, but 25 of them have come at home — the second-best tally in the league — compared to just eight on the road. Why is there a stark difference between the Revs’ form at home and away?