The Chicago Fire are set to welcome Eastern Conference counterparts the New England Revolution to Toyota Park on Saturday night for a Pride Night showdown at 7:30 p.m. CT (ESPN+ | TICKETS).
Both sides come into Saturday's match having participated in the fourth round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament midweek. Ahead of kickoff, here is the scoop in the Revolution's current run of form:
The Week That Was
The Revolution enter the weekend on a bit of a sour note, having lost to USL side Louisville City FC on Tuesday in the fourth round of the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament. First-year head coach Brad Friedel’s rotated lineup got an early lead just five minutes into the match via rookie (and former Fire PDL player) Mark Segbers, but were ultimately undone 3-2 in part due to a thunderous match-winner from Louisville forward Brian Ownby.
The Revolution will feel better about their most recent MLS outing, a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls at Gillette Stadium this past Saturday. New England currently sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, with 22 points through 14 matches played.
In-Form Forwards
Speaking of last Saturday’s victory over the Red Bulls, New England forward Teal Bunbury provided the match-winner in the 78th minute and picked up his team-leading eighth goal of the season in the process. It’s been a revelatory return to scoring form for Bunbury, who has now scored four and assisted twice over his side’s last five MLS matches. Bunbury’s scoring haul is just one off of his single-season career high of nine, a total he achieved as a member of Sporting Kansas City back in 2011.
For the Fire, reigning MLS Golden Boot winner Nemanja Nikolić found his name back on the scoresheet in Wednesday night’s 2-2 penalty kick victory over Columbus Crew SC in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup fourth round. Nikolić scored both goals leading up to the shootout – the first in regulation and the second in extra time -- bringing his 2018 goal haul up to eight total in all competitions for the Fire.
New Name in Net
At the other end of the pitch for the Revolution, 23-year-old goalkeeper Matt Turner has garnered praise for his performance through 14 starts this season after going without a first-team appearance in his first two seasons as an MLS player. With one of the U.S.' all-time top goalkeeping products as his head coach, Turner has blossomed and turned in several memorable performances, most notably his 6-save effort in a draw with Atlanta on May 30
On the road again
After enduring a 1-13-3 road record in 2017, the Revolution are still looking for more consistency away from Gillette Stadium under Friedel. The Revs are 1-2-2 in five away matches, with their lone road win earned on March 31 in a 2-0 blanking of the Houston Dynamo.
In MLS play overall, New England's form over their last five matches played is as follows: W-L-D-D-W
Welcome returns
Wednesday night’s U.S. Open Cup match saw the return of captain Dax McCarty, who played 55 minutes after missing four matches rehabbing an injury he picked up in the first half of the Fire’s last visit to Columbus on May 12. Forward Luis Solignac has also been a recent injury return, getting his first start since March 12 and picking up an assist in last Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. Solignac again featured in head coach Veljko Paunovic’s starting XI in Wednesday night’s Open Cup victory and put in a 65-minute shift before being substituted for McCarty.
In addition, 2018 MLS SuperDraft selection Jon Bakero has returned to training for the Fire, and is expected to be available for selection come kickoff on Saturday night.
All-Time
The Fire have won four straight against New England that dates back to a 2-1 victory in October of 2016 and includes a regular season sweep of the clubs’ three matches against one another last season. Chicago are 26-21-11 all-time in regular season matches against the Revolution, including a 16-5-8 record in matches played at home. New England's last win at Toyota Park came back on March 9, 2013.
