Match Preview: Chattanooga FC vs. New England Revolution II
Hosts look to maintain momentum against tricky visitors
Match: Chattanooga FC v New England Revolution II
Date: Saturday, May 24th, 2025. 19:00 (Eastern)
Venue: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN. Capacity: 20,412
How to watch: Apple TV MLS Season Pass
Tickets: Chattanooga FC Website
Sixth-placed New England Revolution II travels south to Tennessee this weekend to take on first-placed Chattanooga FC in the Scenic City. Kicking off Saturday evening (7pm Eastern) at Finley Stadium, the game will see a Chattanooga side (topping the league’s power rankings) looking to maintain positive momentum (two wins in their last two outings) take on a New England team looking to improve its form (one win in their last five).
The History
Since Chattanooga’s move to MLS Next Pro last season, these sides have met twice, both last year.
In June, CFC beat the Revs 1-0 at home thanks to a Mehdi Ouamri (now with Union Omaha) strike. New England defender Tiago Suarez was sent off on 73 minutes after receiving two yellow cards.
In September, the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium after goals from Kwak Minjae (CFC) and Liam Butts (NE). Chattanooga went on to win the resulting penalty-shootout 5-4.
The record between both sides currently stands in CFC’s favor with 2 wins, 1 draw, 1 shoot-out win, 0 losses, and a +1 goal difference. Saturday night's match will be the only time during the regular season that these sides will meet.
Report cards and lineups
Chattanooga
Chattanooga comes into Saturday’s game as the top team in the MLS Next Pro Eastern Conference (and the league overall). With 24 points from 10 games, they’ve only lost once and have won their last two games in a row. Last weekend they impressively won away at second-placed Huntsville even after a lethargic first-half performance. After going 1-0 down, they came from behind to win 2-1 through goals from Nathan Koehler (first for the club) and Daniel Mangarov (fourth of the season).
Swiss international Eldin Jakupović and stand-in captain Farid Sar-Sar will almost certainly start. They’ve played more soccer than any other CFC players this season. Head Coach Chris Nugent rotates Logan Brown and Ethan Dudley currently, and Nathan Koehler’s maiden goal in Huntsville will ensure he plays.
Milo Garvanian and Tate Robertson are a regular feature in Chattanooga’s goal setups (nine goal contributions between them) and the middle pairing of Callum Watson and Nick Mendonca (who was rested in Huntsville) will likely be returned. Up front, it’s a toss-up between Daniel Mangarov, Kwak Minjae, and Jesus Ibarra to start out wide. Given he’s not started the last couple of games, I’d go with Ibarra being given a start at home. It will be interesting to see if Jalen James gets a starting berth after returning from injury.
At the tip of the attack, Danish hitman Peter Plougmand (4 goals, 1 assist) has been favored lately, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the equally effective Keegan Ancelin (3 goals, 2 assists) get a start again in-front of a home crowd.
The player to watch is Daniel Mangarov. The 23-year-old from Duluth, GA has four goals and two assists across 12 appearances this season and has established himself as CFC’s most creative attacking threat. After scoring the winner against Huntsville last Saturday, he’ll be riding a wave of confidence ahead of the game against New England.
New England
Last Sunday, the Revs fell to a heavy 4-1 loss at the New York Red Bulls II. The one positive was a goal from youngster Enzo Goncalves on his professional debut. But this season has started much brighter than their 2024 campaign which saw New England finish last across the entire league. They won only four matches in that campaign, and have already won three so far this year, showing that the club’s decision to stick with Head Coach Richie Williams was wise. Williams plays a 4-3-3 formation and his side typically are happy to allow the opposition the ball.
Williams has rotated across the entire squad over his last three games, but for a visit to the league leaders, I’d expect him to go with his most tried and true. In goal, Donovan Parisian and Panama international JD Gunn have been swapping in and out, so its a toss-up as to whom Williams will choose. Equally tough to predict is right-back where Damario McIntosh, Grant Emerhi, or Josh Macedo could well feature.
Midfielder Gevork Diarbian is a dangerous proposition to Chattanooga’s defense. He leads the side in shot attempts and has a goal and an assist to his name this year. Diarbian made his first-team debut with the Revolution senior side in its 2-1 victory over Rhode Island in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. Another threat is Brazil native Marcos Dias. He has three goals this campaign, the second highest in the club, four assists, and leads in minutes played (660) and key passes (27). Last season he was the team’s top scorer with nine goals.
The player to watch is New England’s leading scorer Liam Butts, who ranks tied for fifth in MLS NEXT Pro with five goals on the year. He also recently made his first-team debut with the Revolution senior side in the recent game with Rhode Island and scored against Chattanooga last September in the 1-1 draw at Gillette Stadium. Butts has already equaled his goal tally from 2024 and we’re only in May. With much of the season left to play, he’ll likely at least double his 2024 numbers.
Analysis and Predictions
Given its form coming into this game, its position in the table, and its home form (4 wins, 0 losses, 2 ties - all competitions), I can’t see any other realistic outcome than a Chattanooga win on Saturday. While New England is an improved outfit from 2024, they’re still not consistent enough nor strong enough away from home (2 losses, 1 tie) to challenge CFC at Finley Stadium. I’m going for a 2-0 win to Chattanooga.