Austin FC v New England Revolution: Miller eager to keep improving his game

New England Revolution defender Peyton Miller wants to keep improving his overall game, even if that means getting yelled at.

The 17-year-old defender played 10 games for the Revolution last season but has now become a regular starter.

Since returning from injury at the end of March, Miller has started in all 16 of his MLS appearances, even scoring and assisting in the same match against CF Montreal.

Miller has been part of the New England organisation since he was 13 years old, beginning his journey with the Revolution Academy.

The teenager praised the impact of veterans Andrew Farrell and Matt Polster in training and hopes to continue his progression ahead of their next match against in-form Austin FC.

“I’ve been able to train with them [Farrell and Polster] since I was about 15, and they’ve helped me a lot,” said Miller.

“They’ve encouraged me to keep learning from my mistakes. Mistakes are just a part of it.

“They're also not afraid to tell me if I'm doing something wrong or even yell at me. That’s what I want. I don't want anyone to baby me or be soft because I'm young. I want them to be hard on me because I want to get better.

“If you’re good enough, you’re good enough.

“I think there's a lot more for me to accomplish in my career. I have a long career ahead of me, so I'm just going to keep grinding and keep learning.”

New England are in desperate need of a win, having failed to triumph in any of their last five MLS matches. Austin, meanwhile, progressed to the US Open Cup semi-finals after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes on penalties in their last match.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Austin FC – Osman Bukari

With top-scorer Brandon Vazquez ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL, Bukari will look to step up for Austin.

The Ghanaian forward has only scored once this season, but has provided four assists in the competition too.

New England Revolution – Carles Gil

Veteran playmaker Gil has been as effective as ever for New England, registering eight goals and seven assists this season.

This is his third season with at least eight MLS goals (11 in 2023, 10 in 2019). Only Taylor Twellman (seven) has more such seasons in Revolution team history.

MATCH PREDICTION – AUSTIN FC WIN

Austin have picked up 16 points from their 10 home matches this season, losing just twice, and have conceded just eight goals in those games.

After a four-match winning run between April 12 and May 3, the Revolution have won just once in their last 10 MLS games.

New England have lost 12 of their last 17 visits to Texas (W3 D2), including the last three in a row, dating back to the start of the 2011 season. Prior to that, the Revs had visited Texas 24 times and lost only five games (W16 D3).

The only previous meeting between Austin and New England was a 2-2 draw in Foxborough in September 2023. Both teams led in that match, with Alexander Ring scoring an equalising goal for Austin in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Austin FC – 54.2%

Draw – 23.5%

New England Revolution – 22.3%