New England Revolution (9-9-8, 6th in East) vs. Chicago Fire (8-11–9, 10th in East)
There are two points and four positions between the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire. It’s a far cry from last May when the Fire thrashed New England, 5-0, at SeatGeek Stadium when it seemed the Fire would be on the ups and the Revs were on their way to the basement. The reverse was true for a while as well. Nowadays, the Fire have won three of their last four and are chasing the Revolution and other teams for a playoff spot.
The Fire did get Nico Gaitan’s red card from last week’s match against Philadelphia rescinded, but had Aleksandar Katai’s red card suspension from the Portland match extended to this match as well. Katai will miss the match on Saturday.
The Revolution are coming off a 1-1 draw at New York Red Bulls and are just a point clear of the red line in sixth place. Matt Turner made nine saves in the draw. They have just one defeat in their last ten under Bruce Arena.
Nemanja Nikolic has scored five goals in the last four matches for the Fire and has regained the club lead at 11 goals for the year. Nikolic scored a brace last time out against New England in Bridgeview.
For the Fire, they need to get points, preferably wins, on the road if they are going to reach the playoffs. The Fire are just 1-9-3 on the road which is worst in MLS. Last week, the Fire won a must-win match against Philadelphia. Saturday’s match is the next must-win.
Kickoff is at 6:30pm CT on ESPN+.
INJURIES:
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION:
None
CHICAGO FIRE:
QUESTIONABLE: M – Fabian Herbers (shoulder injury)
SUSPENDED:
CHI: Aleksandar Katai
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW:
NE: Wilfried Zahibo
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, CJ Morgante
4th Official: Marcos DeOliveira
VAR: Alan Kelly
THIS YEAR:
5/09/19: CHI 5-0 NE
