MLS Regular Season | Match #10
New England Revolution at Chicago Fire FC
Saturday, May 4 | 8:30 pm ET
Soldier Camp | Chicago, IL
Take a look: 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 FORMULA
New England Revolution Edit
15th in the Eastern Conference (1-7-1, 4 pts.)
Latest Result | loss 4-1 vs. Inter Miami CF
A record 65,612 fans attended the Revolution’s match against Inter Miami CF last weekend, a match that started strongly for the Foxborough side but resulted in a 4-1 loss to the Herons. An illness that ravaged the team on game day did the Revs no favors, ultimately eliminating several expected starters from the lineup, including newly signed goaltender Aljaž Ivačič. The result was the Revs’ third straight loss in MLS, and fourth straight in all competitions.
The Revs will hope to return to their current form against the Chicago Fire, the team they took their first point of the season from in a 1-1 home draw in March. Revolution midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye called it “a game where we definitely left points on the table,” and players and fans alike feel the Revs will travel to Soldier Field with unfinished business.
Chicago Fire FC
12th in the Eastern Conference (2-4-4, 10 pts.)
Latest Result | Pare 0-0 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 cannon of a shot off the crossbar. Goalie Chris Brady played a crucial role in keeping the fire going in the game, making a total of six saves to secure Chicago’s second shutout of the season.
The Fire now sit 12th in the Eastern Conference with just one win in their last six games. However, their wins so far have come at home, against Houston and Montreal, although both of those wins have only been by a single goal.
KEY PLAYERS
Xavier Arreaga, defender of the revolution
After conceding four goals at home to Inter Miami CF, the Revs will rely on new signing Xavier Arreaga to repeat the strong display he put in on debut in the backline, playing the full 90 minutes a few days later on arrival from Seattle Sounders FC and make 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 loss, fitting right into coach Caleb Porter’s preferred system of playing from the back. The Ecuadorian’s confidence on the ball will be crucial against a Fire side that managed just 38.5 percent of possession in their previous 0-0 draw against Atlanta United, and was also held to 38 per hundred of possession when they visited Gillette Stadium in March.
Focus forward Hugo Cuypers
The Fire will be hoping forward Hugo Cuypers can find attacking form in this weekend’s game 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 wasn’t just for a lack of trying, though; while Cuyper’s shot volume has been low in recent games, which could be due to the forward being selective with which shots he takes. He averaged 0.2 xG per shot from a total of five shots in the Fire’s five games since last facing the Revs, though he didn’t record a single shot last time out against Atlanta.
WHAT THEY SAY
Revolution coach Caleb Porter on preparations for Chicago and the Revs’ record:
“There’s always another game around the corner, so I think it’s important to just go back to the process: prepare, train and improve. That’s what I’m focused on. I don’t like the puck. Nobody does. We’re not happy about it, but we can’t keep waiting either. We just have to do something and what I’m trying to do is train these guys as best as possible and give them everything they need in the next game to be successful.”
Porter on the addition 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 difficult to play out of the back unless your goalkeeper is calm and your central defenders they’re calm on the ball, and those two guys are going to help a lot in that regard. They bring confidence, and not just professional experience, but MLS experience. They know this league and they’ve won in this league league. They will be great additions.”
Porter on Dylan Borrero’s return to the field a year after sustaining a knee injury:
“We want him more. He is talented, and you saw even in just 10 minutes, there was a spark. You can see his talent and his ability to run to the boys and combine. So, we just have to build the right way, because he’s been out a year. He’s not ready to start yet, but we can continue to progress off the bench for the next few games. Hopefully he can go to 30, and then maybe 45, and eventually do that begins.”
Porter on the team’s 1-1 draw against Chicago on March 23:
“I think it was a game that, in the end, we pushed to win. We came from behind. I think it’s a game that is set up for us, hopefully, to 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. We know they’re going to be ready at home had 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 in the team:
“We just have to continue to trust in our work. We have to believe in the work that we do, and obviously we know the talent that we have in this team, so it’s only a matter of time until things start to go our way way, and we have to keep pushing. If you don’t work hard, things don’t get fixed. So, you can work really hard, and you can lose a game, but if you don’t work hard and you don’t play well , you can’t win games. So we try to do the right thing every week. The guys take it seriously and the training is tough and we’ll keep pushing.
Kaye on what the group can learn from the previous draw vs. Chicago:
“I think it was a game where we definitely left points on the board, so we’re definitely going to go through the last game and see where we can take advantage of them and, obviously, where we can improve a little bit defensively. . I think the last game, we definitely gave away too many easy chances in the goal. It was a 1-1 game, but I thought overall, we played well [enough] to win that game. So we have to take some confidence looking back on that performance, but it will be a different game. The teams are at a different point in the season, but we just have to focus on ourselves and get the job done.”
Kaye on the boost to the team that the return of Dylan Borrero provides:
“It’s huge. It’s huge. It’s going to take a while to get back to where he was before he got hurt, but just to see his smile every day and know how important those minutes were to him, it’s definitely a morale booster. of the whole team. So yeah, we’re excited to see him play, excited to see him have the confidence to go after players one-on-one and give us a different kind of look when he’s on the field. waiting more minutes for him.”
