‘OK, men,’ he said.

‘And women,’ said Chaser Angelina Johnson.

‘And women,’ Wood agreed. ‘This is it.’

‘The big one,’ said Fred Weasley.

‘The one we’ve all been waiting for,’ said George.

‘We know Oliver’s speech by heart,’ Fred told Harry. ‘We were in the team last year.’

It’s fitting that it would come down to the Revs standing in the way of the Fire. This used to be one of the most heated rivalries in all of MLS. Not because of geography or corporate forcing the two teams together, but because of the importance of the games when these two teams locked horns. It’s time to add another chapter into this storied rivalry. New England have a chance to end the Fire’s season, and the Fire get a chance to put New England outside the playoff positions.

This truly is “The Big One.”

Chicago Fire all-time MLS record vs New England Revolution: 27W-13D-21L, 90 GF / 80 GA, 94 pts out of 180

Chicago Fire away MLS record vs New England Revolution: 10W-4D-16L, 3 GF/44 GA, 34 pts out of 90

Previously on…

The Revs come into this one in decent form. They’ve only lost once in their last five games, and that was to LAFC, the class of the league. They’ve drawn their last two games at Seattle and at the Red Bulls. And they beat Orlando 4-1 and Cincy 2-0 to close out July.

Suggested Lineup

There are several permutations the lineup could go, and I think I like this one best. It all essentially boils down to Frankowski being a better defender than Aleksander Katai. New England has been putting away goals for a few weeks, scoring ten goals in their last five games, so the goal is to prevent them from scoring. Frankie will help with that more while still adding to the offence.

Keys To The Match

Be Disciplined: The thing that has impressed me most about this team since the beginning of the month has been their discipline. The Fire have three clean sheets in their last five games to their name, and the defense hasn’t looked this good in literal years. Offensively, Nemanja Nikolic looks to be back in form, bagging a goal in each of his last four games.

This must continue, for this game and beyond. The Fire are going to have to be near perfect to do this playoff run. And the most important thing for them to do now, is to keep their discipline.

Oh, and no more red cards. This playing a player down thing is giving me a heart attack.

Turf Woes: The Fire are notoriously poor on artificial turf. That has to change today. They can’t be thrown y the speed of the ball or the awkward bounces when the ball is in the air. The fake grass in New England is notoriously terrible, and will have an effect on the game, and the Fire have to make sure they’re ready for whatever wacky nonsense this game has instore for them.

Have Fun: I’ve been watching a lot of The International this week. For those of you who don’t know, The International one of the biggest esports tournaments of the year, and has by far the biggest prize pool— almost 34 million dollars.

You’d think with such a large bot, everything would be tense as the smallest mistake could send you home before realizing the dream and having your life changed. .But the thing is, they’re not. The players are extremely relaxed and even when things do go wrong, things in the booths are calm and focused. And they look like their having a blast.

This is the attitude the Fire need to adapt if they want to succeed in the monumental task of making the playoffs. They need to stop yelling at referees and panicking when things go wrong. Play and find joy in the game, and they will triumph.

How To Watch

Television: NA

Streaming: ESPN+

Final Thoughts

I really really hope the Fire win. I’m enjoying this late run and don’t want to get off this train yet.

Prediction: 2-0 Fire win.

Do you think the Fire will be able to pull it off in Foxboro? Let us know in the comments below!