New England Revolution 2022 Preview

Previous Year Recap

Nashville DC was easily the biggest surprise of the 2020 season with a solid regular season to qualify for the playoffs and then an electrifying run in the playoffs. Their team of MLS veterans gelled quickly at the back and made for a formidable defensive unit that was aided by a few fresh faces carrying the offense.

Fantasy Players to Watch

When it comes to the fantasy football/soccer side of things, the Revs players’ excellence last term will be reflected in their prices. Trying to find those differentials is the difference between a good year and a great year. There are some available in Foxborough whilst at the same time, there are the obvious names.

Bruce Arena has done a great job at Gillette Stadium and in truth, if there was a space for a manager in your squad, you’d do well to find someone better than Bruce. This isn’t the case though and so the focus remains on those on the field. New England have lost Canadian star Tajon Buchanan to Europe with Matt Turner on the verge of following him. There has been good business on the flipside though and there is one particularly notable arrival who will be highlighted later on. The Revs are alongside the likes of SKC, LAFC and NYCFC as a team who promise to be worth watching in 2022, so you would be wise to choose a player or two from Arena’s ranks!

Goalkeeper

Goalkeeper is one position where isn’t normally too much debate, but that isn’t the case for New England. As previously mentioned, USMNT shot-stopper Turner is reportedly on his way to Arsenal. Enter, Brad Knighton ($5.0m). Knighton deputised for Turner last season on numerous occasions and he certainly grasped the opportunity.

His price may well soar if and when Turner swaps MLS for the Premier League, but for now, he’s super cheap. Turner will most likely hang around until the summer but with Knighton averaging 5.83 points per game in comparison to his counterpart being at 4.93, it could be a very smart differential.

Defender

Alongside Turner’s imperious nature, the backline in front of him was crucial in the Revs defending so well as a unit. Omar Gonzalez arrives from Toronto to keep pushing Andrew Farrell and Henry Kessler in the middle of defence and add further depth, but fullback is my focus here. Brandon Bye, at $6million, is very likely to continue starting on the flank and he was a force to be reckoned with last season.

Along with the likes of Jon Bell and DeJuan Jones, there is a group forming of younger defenders that have a lot to offer. Bye is at the fore of this, he works well going both ways on the field and so he can provide assists as well as clean sheets. The 26-year-old is somewhat of a late bloomer in terms of really being a big name but that doesn’t meet that a move to Europe is off of the cards.

Midfielder

Moving up into midfield and, once again, there are obvious candidates here. Carles Gil was the MLS Landon Donovan MVP of the year for the 2021 season and fresh off of signing a new contract, the Spaniard will be keen to defend his crown. Gil is in fact, the most expensive midfielder in the game at $10.5 million- he reached as high as $13 million in value last term. Beyond that though, especially with Buchanan gone, there isn’t much attacking input coming out of the middle of the field.

One man who could change this is the new arrival, a player who Bruce has worked with before. Sebastian Lletget ($8 million) arrives from the LA Galaxy and will add experience as well as a lot of industry to the team. Lletget is going straight in my team because if the Revs are to challenge in the upper echelons of the division, he will have to alleviate some of the stress off of Gil’s shoulders. He is a proven star and given that he is an American going into a fairly well-versed squad, there shouldn’t be any issues with adjusting.

Forward

Finally then, to the frontline. There aren’t many in options in truth, with their only being two viable players. Gustavo Bou led the team in goals last season but having debuted for the Polish national team alongside Robert Lewandowski, Adam Buksa ($9 million) is the man to have. He may soon be on his way back to Europe too as the interest continues to swell.

The three DPs (Gil, Bou, Buksa) dovetailed very well last term and they were often on hand to bail out the backline in high-scoring affairs. Bou is second most expensive forward in the game at $10 million, behind only Taty Castellanos of NYCFC, last season’s top scorer. Buksa comes in at $1 million cheaper and he is seemly the safer pick- he can be wasteful at times in front of goal but when he’s in-form, he’s a true threat. Buksa is great in the air and in general, can dominate with the ball at his feet or in the sky.

Fantasy Expectations

Fantasy success when it comes to the Revs isn’t really hard to come by, the difficulty is picking out the right players. Gil will most likely be one of the leading points scorers across MLS plus both Bou and Buksa will be pushing for double digit returns on the goals front. It would be wise to have one defensive and one offensive player from this New England team, and then maybe even a third if you’ve got a decent chuck of money spare.

Potential Starting XI