The New England Revolution return home on Saturday to face off against Houston Dynamo of the Western Conference in what will be a battle of the youth versus experience.
While MLS club rosters can sometimes be poorly updated, the average ages of the squads stands out as Houston has one of the oldest rosters in the league while New England is among the youngest.
"Regarding Houston, I think they maybe didn’t start the season well, but I think they found their way to succeed," head coach Marko Mitrovic said. I actually think that they have a lot of talent on the field and they have a lot of experience. They are one of the oldest teams in the league. With their talent and experience, they created circumstances for them that really work well. It’s a team that is very dangerous when they are on the ball and has a lot of talent especially going forward and have players that can change the game at any given moment."
If there is one player that New England has to stop, it is Brazilian forward Guilherme. He joined Houston prior to the start of the 2026 campaign and has 10 goals and seven assists to his name. He featured in the MLS All-Star Game and is looking like a home run signing for Houston.
But of course, New England has a star midfielder as well and Houston head coach Ben Olsen had plenty of praise for Revs captain Carles Gil.
He's remarkable," Olsen said. "He's been remarkable since the day he got into this league, and it's the same every year. Whether the team is in really good form or in poor form throughout the years, he's just been the same. That's why he's so hard to stop. I think he's been a gem for the league. I think he's a guy that is up there as one of the best players this league's ever seen, and certainly with his consistency, he's been fun to watch. Not fun to watch if you're scouting him and trying to game plan around how to deal with a guy like this. Certainly, you have to be aware of him, understand the game speeds up when the ball hits his foot, but he can freeze you. Guys like him, they just smell where the space is so it's about taking away the space."
The match will also serve as a reunion. Brooklyn Raines will reunite with the club he spent four seasons with. While Raines spent a lot of time in Houston, he is really coming into his own with New England.
Olsen is happy to see Raines flourishing even if it isn't with Houston.
"We're still very proud of Brooklyn," Olsen said. "He went to a place where a coach saw a specific role that fits his specific system, and he's done great. He's exactly that. He does exactly what this coach wants out of him. They have history, and it's nice to see him fitting in and being a big part of New England."
With the amount of time that Raines has spent in Houston, he reached major milestones with the club. While he is excited to see some of his friends, he is also excited to play against them.
"I've already been talking to a few of my teammates already just about the game, and other stuff," Raines said. "For me, it's really exciting just to kind of get to see old faces, but then again get to go up against some of my best friends. To be honest, I can't really say anything bad about Houston. They've given me everything, from starting with a second team and being able to make my debut, and then kind of just go up from there. Then obviously being a starter last season. So, for me it's both excitement and just wanting to go out there and have fun, but also win."
