The Fire beat Orlando City last week. It was their first win in MLS since June. And because we’re all Fire fans, we couldn’t just be happy about it.

“It’s Orlando. They suck. All this proves is we suck slightly less.”

A fair sentiment. But I still say that you start turning things around by beating the teams you should beat. Orlando was a team we should’ve beaten, and we did. Now we can try to build on that against stronger teams.

The Revs aren’t exactly good this year, but they’re better than us right now. And they’ve got a bit of momentum from positive results in their last three games. I don’t want to say this is a test for the Fire, since there are no real stakes involved here except pride and/or spite, but if the Men In Red want to finish the season strong, we need to make a good showing here.

Chicago Fire all-time MLS record vs New England Revolution: 26W-12D-21L, 83 GF / 78 GA, 90 pts out of 177

Chicago Fire away MLS record vs New England Revolution: 10W-3D-16L, 28 GF / 42 GA, 33 pts out of 87

Previously On...

A win and two draws in their last three. All of which against strong opposition. The Revs are starting to build up a head of steam, in other words.

Suggested Lineup

Sanchez; Vincent, Campbell, Kappelhof, Hasler; Schweinsteiger, McCarty (c), Bronico; De Leeuw, Katai; Nikolic

Pretty much the same lineup as last week, with Basti moved back to midfield and an actual CB in the back.

Keys To The Match

Score First: We did it last week and it worked out fine and dandy!

The Radical Center: I realize “control the midfield” is a bit trite as far as game #analysis goes, but it’s going to be really important here. Kelyn Rowe and Diego Fagundez can be pretty dangerous if left unsupervised. This is where Basti and Dax’s experience will prove invaluable. Those two plus Bronico to lend some energy and muscle should be enough to lock down the middle of the park, which in turn will be crucial if the Fire want to get something out of this game.

Stay Organized: It’s not just that the Fire have been bad this year, it’s that they’ve been sloppy. Whether that’s down to communication problems or guys not knowing their jobs, games tend to get away from this team through a lack of coordination and discipline. The Fire got a little bit of that back last week— admittedly, Orlando didn’t test them much, but it was still a good example of what this team can do when they actually coordinate.

How To Watch

Television: N/A

Streaming: ESPN+

Final Thoughts

Can the Fire keep the momentum going? Let us know in the comments below!