FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – After taking four points from a pair of road games the New England Revolution’s playoff push continues on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium, where they’ll host the Chicago Fire in a critical Eastern Conference showdown.
The eighth-place Revs (8-10-10, 34 pts.) enter the weekend five points back of the playoff places in the East, but with still six games to play they do hold a game in hand on the sixth-place Montreal Impact (12-14-3, 39 pts.). Chicago (7-15-6, 27 pts.), meanwhile, are 12 points below the playoff line.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night with Brad Feldman, Paul Mariner and Naoko Funayama handling the call on NBC Sports Boston and 98.5 The Sports Hub. Portuguese radio listeners can catch the action on 1260 Nossa Radio USA.
Elizabeth Pehota and Jeff Lemieux will break down the starting lineups and storylines on Revolution Pregame LIVE, streaming on the Revs’ official Facebook page at 7 p.m. ET, while Revolution Postgame Live will begin immediately after the final whistle on NBC Sports Boston.
Rob “Hardy” Poole and former Revolution midfielder Clyde Simms will handle postgame duties on 98.5 The Sports Hub, taking calls for 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Saturday night also marks the Revs’ fifth annual Kick Childhood Cancer Game as part of the club’s initiatives throughout Childhood Cancer Awareness month. The match will feature gold-themed elements throughout, including gold nets, corner flags, match balls, and captain’s armbands. As they have throughout the month, players will also wear special gold ribbons on their jerseys.
Several of those items will be autographed after the match and be available for fans to acquire via online auction, with all proceeds going to benefit Binkeez for Comfort. Check www.revolutionsoccer.net and the club’s social channels for more details on Saturday evening.
Current Form: Back-to-back road results have Revs on the rise; Fire fresh off big win
New England followed up their slump-busting 1-0 win at New York City FC with another strong road performance at Los Angeles FC last weekend, getting a late equalizer from rookie Brandon Bye – his first MLS goal – in a 1-1 draw with the expansion side.
HIGHLIGHTS: Bye’s powerful header helps Revs take a point home from the West Coast
Head coach Brad Friedel and his players were disappointed not to take the full three points – especially after outshooting the hosts 14-6 in a dominant second half – but another solid defensive performance and a second consecutive road result have provided the Revs with a bit of momentum as they return to Foxborough.
“Going through a tough stretch is difficult for everyone, and you start to question that a little bit – your belief,” midfielder Scott Caldwell said of the Revs’ frustrating summer. “We have confidence back. We’re good to go for these last six games knowing that we can beat anyone.”
READ: String of solid defensive performances sparked by focus on “the minor details”
Chicago have similarly gotten back on track in recent weeks after a lengthy summer slump. The Fire lost eight straight from early July through mid-August, but they snapped that skid with a gutsy 1-1 draw with Columbus Crew SC before rolling to a comfortable 4-0 win over reeling Orlando City SC last weekend.
That four-goal outburst – including a pair of strikes from last year’s MLS Golden Boot winner, Nemanja Nikolic – will provide a boost of confidence for Chicago, and the Revs know they’ll need to quell that confidence with a fast start on Saturday night.
“They’re coming off a big win; they’re going to be flying,” said Caldwell. “We need to start strong because we need to eliminate that confidence early. They have nothing to lose, so we need to win. It could be an entertaining game.”
Past Meetings: Schweinsteiger, Bunbury traded goals in June draw at Toyota Park
Teal Bunbury bagged a late equalizer for the Revs in a 1-1 draw with the Fire on June 9 at Toyota Park, snapping New England’s four-game losing streak in the regular-season series.
While the Revs are winless in the last five meetings (0-4-1) dating back to 2016, they had won five straight over the Fire at Gillette Stadium in all competitions prior to falling in Foxborough last June, one of only two home losses for the Revolution last season. Overall the Revs are 16-10-3 against the Fire at home.
Although they haven’t met in the postseason since 2009, there is a lengthy playoff history between the sides, who squared off in eight playoff series in a 10-year span between 2000 and 2009 (every year but 2001 and 2004).
Injury Report: Mancienne returns after hectic week; Hauché available to make debut
Teal Bunbury has returned from the lingering hamstring injury that’s plagued him in recent weeks, coming off the bench to set up Bye’s equalizer last weekend at Banc of California Stadium.
Center back Michael Mancienne missed that trip to LA as he traveled to England for the birth of his first-born son, Noah, but he has since returned to the Revs and will be available for selection on Saturday night.
READ: Mancienne on becoming a father: “I never thought I’d know love like that”
Recent signing Guillermo Hauché will also be available to face the Fire as the Argentine attacker has received his U.S. P-1 Visa and international transfer certificate, clearing him to be added to the Revolution roster ahead of a potential debut this weekend.
Final Thoughts: Friedel says Revs will look to push the tempo on Saturday night
“We’re going to have to be at the top of our game,” said Friedel. “We’re going to have to play high tempo. We’re going to have to get in their faces when we don’t have the ball, and when we have the ball, we’re going to need to attack like we’ve been doing most of the season and creating these chances.”
