MLS Regular Season | Match #10
New England Revolution at Chicago Fire FC
Saturday, May 4 | 8:30 p.m. ET
Soldier Field | Chicago, Illinois
Watch: FREE on Apple TV
English Talent: Erik Krakauer (play-by-play), Jalil Anibaba (analyst)
Spanish Talent: Moises Linares (play-by-play), Pablo Marino (analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub HD2 (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Charlie Davies (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
15th in Eastern Conferece (1-7-1, 4 pts.)
Last Result | 4-1 loss vs. Inter Miami CF
A record 65,612 fans were in attendance for the Revolution’s showdown against Inter Miami CF last weekend, a match which started strong for the Foxborough side but ultimately resulted in a 4-1 loss to the Herons. An illness that swept through the team on the day of the match did not do the Revs any favors, ultimately eliminating several expected starters from the lineup, including newly-signed goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič. The result was the Revs’ third consecutive loss in MLS, and fourth straight in all competitions.
The Revs will hope to turn around their current run of form against the Chicago Fire, the team off whom they took their first point of the season in a 1-1 home draw in March. Revolution midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye called it “a game where we definitely felt like we left points on the table,” and players and fans alike will feel that the Revs are traveling to Soldier Field with unfinished business.
Chicago Fire FC
12th in Eastern Conference (2-4-4, 10 pts.)
Last Result | 0-0 draw vs. Atlanta United FC
Chicago played out a 0-0 draw at home against Atlanta United last time out, a tense affair that saw both sides create chances and each have a shot cannon off the crossbar. Goalkeeper Chris Brady played a crucial role in keeping the Fire in the game, making a total of six saves to secure Chicago’s second shutout of the season.
The Fire now find themselves 12th in the Eastern Conference with only one win in their last six games. However, both of their wins so far have come at home, against Houston and Montreal, though both victories were only by single-goal margins.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution defender Xavier Arreaga
After conceding four goals at home to Inter Miami CF, the Revs will be relying on newcomer Xavier Arreaga to repeat the strong showing he made on debut in the backline, playing the full 90 minutes just days after arriving from Seattle Sounders FC and making a game-high seven clearances in last Saturday’s loss.
Arreaga also ranked high among Revolution players for passes completed and touches in the home defeat, fitting right into head coach Caleb Porter’s preferred system of playing out from the back. The Ecuadorian’s confidence on the ball will be crucial against a Fire side that only managed 38.5 percent possession in their previous 0-0 draw against Atlanta United, and similarly was held to 38 percent possession when they visited Gillette Stadium in March.
Fire forward Hugo Cuypers
The Fire will be hoping that forward Hugo Cuypers can find attacking form in this weekend’s match against New England. Cuypers scored Chicago’s only goal when the two sides last met on March 23, his second of the season, but has not scored in the league since.
The Belgian’s dry spell has not entirely been down to a lack of trying, though; while Cuyper’s shot volume has been low in recent games, that might be due to the attacker being selective with which shots he does take. He has averaged 0.2 xG per shot from a total of five shots in the Fire’s five matches since last facing the Revs, although he did not record a single shot last time out against Atlanta.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Revolution head coach Caleb Porter on preparations for Chicago and the Revs’ record:
“There's always another game around the corner, so I think it is important to just get back to the process: prepare, train, and improve. That's what I'm focused on. I don't like the record at all. No one does. We're not happy about it, but we can't keep dwelling on it either. We’ve just got to do something about it and what I'm trying to do is coach these guys as best I can and give them everything they need in the next game to be successful.”
Porter on the additions of Xavier Arreaga and Aljaž Ivačič and their role in the team’s style of play:
“They are footballers. They are talented. They are good on the ball and they are very composed. It allows us to play out of the back. It is really hard to play out of the back unless your goalkeeper is calm and your center backs are calm on the ball, and those two guys are going to help a lot in that regard. They bring confidence and they bring experience, and not just professional experience, but MLS experience. They know this league and they have won in this league, and they have been successful in this league. They will be great additions.”
Porter on Dylan Borrero’s return to the pitch a year after sustaining a knee injury:
“We want him in more. He is talented, and you saw even in just the 10 minutes, there was a spark. You could see his talent and his ability to run at guys and combine. So, we just have to build him up the right way, because he has been out a year. He is not ready to start yet, but we can keep progressing him off the bench probably for the next several games. Hopefully, he can go 30, and then maybe 45, and eventually, get him to start.”
Porter on the team’s 1-1 draw against Chicago on March 23:
“I thought it was a game that, in the end, we were pushing to win. We came from behind. I think it's a game that is set up for us to, hopefully, do well, but it's never easy in this league. When you look at the scorelines, there are always surprises, right? So, we're just going to keep working on ourselves, trying to be the best version of ourselves right now that we can. We know Chicago is going to be hungry. We know they are going to be ready at home. They have got good players – very good players – and I think they’ve shown signs this year of being a very good team as well. So, it won't be an easy game, but I'm looking for improvement and a result.”
Revolution midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye on the level of belief and effort within the team:
“We’ve just got to keep trusting our work. We have to believe in the work we're doing, and we obviously know the talent we have on this team, so it's just a matter of time until things start going our way, and we just have to keep pushing. If you don't work hard, things don't get fixed. So, you can work really hard, play well, and lose a game, but if you don't work hard and you don't play well, you can't win games. So, we're trying to do the right thing every week. Guys are taking it seriously and training is hard and intense, and we're going to keep pushing.”
Kaye on what the group can learn from the previous draw vs. Chicago:
“I think that was a game where we definitely felt like we left points on the table, so we're definitely going to go over the last game and see where we can exploit them and obviously, where we can sharpen up a little bit defensively. I think last game, we definitely gave them too many easy chances on goal. It was a 1-1 game, but I think overall, we played well [enough] to win that game. So, we should take some confidence in looking back at that performance, but it's going to be a different game. The teams are at a different point in the season, but we've just got to focus on ourselves and get the job done.”
Kaye on the boost to the team that Dylan Borrero’s return provides:
“It’s huge. It's huge. It's going to take some time to get him back to where he was before he got injured, but just to see his smile every day and know how important those minutes were to him, definitely lifts the morale of the entire team. So yeah, we're excited to see him play, excited to see him have the confidence to go after players one-v-one and give us a different kind of look when he's on the field. So, looking forward to more minutes for him.”
