Okay, raise your hand if you had the New England Revolution in the Top 3 in the East with a chance to leapfrog Inter Miami for second place in late April at the beginning of the year.
That's too many hands, put those down you liars...Coach Mitrovic can leave his hand up but the rest of you degenerates disappoint me.
But no, seriously, that is the current situation for tonight's game between New England and Miami (730pm, Apple TV). The Revs are three points back of second place (with a game in hand) and a win would bring them level on points at 18 but give New England their sixth win on the year, one ahead of Messi and Co as the primary tiebreaker.
Thomas Pinzone
Miami hasn't lost since their season opener at LAFC, a 3-0 loss that marks one of the few actual bad games they've played this year. Yes, they were eliminated on away goals by Nashville after a pair of low scoring draws in CONCACAF play but that seemed to be more getting out game planned than poor play.
The curious decision of Javier Mascherano to resign earlier this month was as surprising a decision as we've seen in MLS ever. I understand that Miami is going to have significantly overinflated expectations on the field and whatever tensions that might cause, but winning knockout tournaments will always be a crapshoot. Betting bounced by Nashville in the CCC this year and Atlanta United when they were the 1-seed in the 2024 playoffs should be considered far more normal occurrences given MLS' still parity driven structure.
While things have been far from perfect so far this year, it hasn't stopped Miami that much during their current long unbeaten run. Despite racking up a ton of points so far though, they have been susceptible to giving up goals. A pair of 2-2 draws with RBNY and Austin to open their new stadium haven't helped, but there's also a three road wins over Orlando, NYCFC, and Colorado in which they allowed two goals as well. Full credit to Miami though for getting all six points in the Rocky Mountains over the last week, RSL and the Rapids on short rest at altitude is an impressive feat for anyone.
New England meanwhile have been a different form of chaos while tremendously exceeding expectations so far this year. Yes, the Revs still struggle in their build up play and the defensive half of the field has had a lot of moving parts injuries affecting the backline and holding midfield spots. But while the Revs play goes through long stretches of both weathering the storm and being on the front foot, they've made it work so far this month to get results.
Seth Macomber
Marko Mitrovic seeming willing his side to multiple come from behind wins including in their last two, home to Columbus and midweek at Atlanta, was simply an unheard of event under Caleb Porter. The Revs leaned into the former US youth international's young player base to go along with their previous young signings and it's paying off across the board.
Ethan Kohler's season opening stint at right back didn't work out but he's spent the last 150 minutes or so at centerback and has been fine. Will Sands has been playing well enough to keep Peyton Miller out of the starting left back spot which is just as well because Peyton is proving to be a nightmare off the bench as a pure winger. Matt Turner is close to, if not, at his previous form pre-transfer to Arsenal and the Revs are becoming a force on set pieces, something we haven't really seen since Adam Buksa's magnificent Polish forehead regularly finished goals five years ago.
Overall, again I can't believe I'm saying this...but the Revs-Herons should be the nightcap of a pretty awesome national TV doubleheader after Minnesota-LAFC (West 4th vs 3rd) this afternoon. Alas, New England will probably have to wait until next year for more national spotlight, as their midweek win in Atlanta was their only national game listed unless the league flexes a bunch of games late in the year onto the various FOX channels.
As always we are joined by our good friend Alex Windley of FanSided's InterHeron site among other places for all things pink and Messi related including their excellent new Nu Stadium (yes it will always be called this in this column) featuring several trophy banners but curiously none from the North American SuperLiga. Be sure to follow her and check out InterHeron for the pink half of the game coverage tonight.
Josh Nye
TBM: Javier Mascherano's resignation seemed rather abrupt, can you fill us in on that situation and any updates on the coaching search?
AW: As of right now, no, there have been no new developments besides the loose links to Marcelo Gallardo and Xavi Hernandez. The last thing reported was that Inter Miami will keep Guillermo Hoyos on as "full-time" interim manager as they do their due diligence in finding a permanent replacement.
TBM: Inter Miami lost to Nashville early in CONCACAF play, does having Nashville at the top of the East and in the CCC semis take the sting off that series cause they've been so good this year? And is that defensive style something Miami has struggled with this year?
AW: In all honesty, sure! I think Miami put that result behind them, and the dominoes that followed (Javier Mascherano's resignation) were enough. Miami is a team that takes things day by day and match by match, so I do believed the team is fully focused on the MLS regular season as of right now. As far as the defensive style goes, I would agree with that! We've seen the team struggle to break down a low block, and it does take some Messi magic to unlock, but, as long as he's on the field, Miami will always have a "break in case of emergency" plan.
TBM: There's no question but you are allowed to moderately gloat about the new Nu Stadium and how awesome it is. Most importantly, what's the food like?
AW: The stadium is great! Very "modern Serie A-esque" (see: Juventus) with its canopy and seating. Regarding the food, I haven't gotten the chance to explore everything, but the press box food is pretty solid!
TBM: Despite the shiny new digs, no wins yet in the new place...what hasn't gone right for Miami in their two draws at home recently?
AW: Playing style! Under Hoyos, he looks like he's trying new formations and tactics with the team. On the flip side, with Mascherano, he was quite stubborn at times in comparison. Let's look at Miami's game vs Real Salt Lake. Hoyos deployed the side in a 3-4-1-2 which helped the side get their first clean sheet in a while. So I expect Miami to really go for that first win against the Revs.
TBM: Let's end on a high note, talk about a few under the radar players that have played well so far. Telasco Segovia's five assists jumps out at me immediately.
AW: For starters, Micael! He was a huge acquisition over the offseason and has been Miami's best defender this year by a mile. He's got excellent positioning, quite quick for a man over six feet, and has done a great job anchoring the defense! Besides him, I also want to shout out Maxi Falon, Segovia, as you said, Yannick Bright, and Luis Suarez for being able to come off the bench and score some clutch goals.
Lineup/Injuries/Score Predictions/Etc.
Lineup minus the injuries to Mateo Silvetti and suspensions to Telasco and Segovia:
(5-3-2/3-4-1-2) St. Clair; Mura, Lujan, Falcon, Micael, Allen; De Paul - David Ayala; Messi; Berterame - Allende
Score? I think it'll end in another draw at home: 2-2.
![Marko Mitrovic: "Matt [Turner] Is The Best Goalkeeper In The League" Post feature image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a7/71/a771255d-9a2d-4ab1-b5f2-b757686990f9/content/images/size/w1600/format/webp/2026/04/DSC01480-1.jpg)