On the wings of victory – and perhaps an errant wind gust – the Fire head to New England to take on an old opponent: This is the 88th regular season meeting between the Fire and the Revolution.

Recent editions of this fixture have been high scoring affairs, and both teams have the firepower to make that something that we could see again on a rainy afternoon in Foxborough.

New England Revolution

Overview

2023 Results: 15W-10D-9L, 55 pts, 5th in the Eastern Conference, 57 GF, 41 GA (+16 GD)

Key Offseason Signings: Nick Lima (RB), Henrick Ravas (GK)

The New England Revolution finished 2023 comfortably in a playoff spot, but their 2023 season was anything but comfortable. For reasons that are both complex and still not fully understood, the Revolution showed Head Coach Bruce Arena the door midway through the 2023 season for non-sporting related reasons, and the team was in turmoil for the remainder of the season.

After Arena’s departure, it simply didn’t feel like the same team, and the Revs made a quick and quiet exit from the postseason, falling to the Philadelphia Union in two games and scoring just a single goal in the series.

The Revolution brought in Caleb Porter as Head Coach in the offseason to try to right the ship. Porter won MLS Cup in both of his prior head coaching gigs, and with the Revs talented-but-aging core (bolstered by a not insignificant number of young, talented players), New England are clearly in “win now” mode.

And yet. The Revs have lost the first four games of their league season, though they’ve also had to contend with CONCACAF Champions Cup play, where they currently await Club América in the quarterfinal round. Though the Revs are one of just three MLS teams to make it to this year’s quarterfinals, they are the only team from the league to advance without having had to face down MLS or Liga MX opposition.

With their game against Club América more than a week away, the Revolution can fully focus on this match.

Tactics and Starting XI

Even if the Revs don’t have a midweek CONCACAF game to contend with, they have lost a number of key players to international duty this week: Starting GK Henrik Ravas has been called to the Slovakia national team, Revs homegrown midfielder Noel Buck was called to the England U19 national team, and fellow homegrown midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević, who has become a regular starter for New England in 2024, is with Chris Brady in U.S. Olympic team camp.

Regardless of the players, Caleb Porter has been primarily relying on the same 4-2-3-1 shape in New England that he’s used in previous stops in Columbus and Portland.

Like the Fire’s previous two opponents, Porter likes his team to play a possession-based system. Unlike both CF Montréal and Columbus, however, they aren’t dogmatic about building up through the back.

Instead, the system is designed largely to magnify the strengths of Designated Player Carles Gil, is one of the better players in the league at his Central Attacking Midfield/#10 role (at least, of players not named “Messi”). Get Carles Gil the ball, let him be creative with it, and if he doesn’t see a pass he likes? He’s more than capable of finding the back of the net himself – something he did 11 times in 2023. So far this season, he’s responsible for two of the Rev’s three goals in league play.

The other goal was scored by Giacomo Vrioni, the Designated Player striker that joined the team in 2022. Since then, he’s been something of a disappointment – injuries have kept him from really working his way into a groove, and he finished his first full season with just six goals and two assists through 29 games (13 starts).  The Revs will be looking for more from Vrioni in 2024.

The Revs third DP, right winger Tomás Chancalay, on the other hand, has surpassed expectations since joining the team in the summer of 2023, scoring 6 goals in just 864 minutes, including one against the Fire.

Playing on the opposite wing to Chancalacy will likely be Nacho Gil, the Carles’s brother.  Behind them in the defensive midfield, Porter will likely field Mark-Anthony Kaye and former Fire player (and now Revs backup captain) Matt Polster.

In the Revs four-man backline, center backs Henry Kessler and Dave Romney will likely be flanked by DeJuan Jones and Nick Lima, who will play in front of Earl Edwards Jr., getting his first start in 2024.

Players to Watch

Carles Gil: Carles Gil is the heartbeat of the Revs attack. The Revs game plan isn’t a lot more complicated than “get him the ball and let the man work,” but then again, it doesn’t have to be: He’s one of the most creative players in the league, and when he can’t find a guy to pass to, he knows how to find the back of the net himself.

Tomás Chancalay: The mid-2023 addition to New England’s squad had a strong performance against the Fire in Chicago the last time the teams met, scoring a goal and getting six shots off (two on target). While Chancalay’s underlying statistics weren’t fantastic, if he can continue to perform at a high level, the Revs will be difficult to handle: Even if Vrioni hasn’t been bagging goals by the dozen, he’s still a dangerous enough attacker to keep defenders busy, and the trio of Vrioni, Carles Gil and Chancalay can stretch back lines past the breaking point.

Chicago Fire

Excused Absences

Like the Revs, the Fire have two starters to international duty: Chris Brady is with the Revolution’s Bajraktarević and the at U.S. Men’s Olympic Team as they prepare for Paris this summer and Xherdan Shaqiri is with the Swiss National Team.

Spencer Richey will be making his first start for the Fire in 2024, having made a first-half appearance for Fire II in their Open Cup game on Wednesday,and Brian Gutiérrez will likely take the central role nominally occupied by Xherdan Shaqiri – though in practice, both Gutiérrez and Shaqiri have been functioning as creators and, at time, playing wider.

With Guti shifting in the middle, Chris Mueller seems primed for his first start for the Fire since being injured early in the 2023 campaign. Mueller is a quick attacker and will give the Revs back line something to contend with, but he isn’t the kind of creative force that Gutiérrez is, meaning a shift in tactics from what we normally see out of the Fire.

Gutiérrez will have support of the midfielders behind him, but, ultimately, it will be on him to be a creative attacking force, playing a similar role to Carles Gil opposite him on the pitch. Gutiérrez clearly has abundant talent, but so far, he hasn’t been goal dangerous and he hasn’t always thrived in a role where the team’s offense is on his shoulders, one of the reasons he’s playing for the Fire on a U-22 deal, rather than in a top-flight European club earning multiples of what he makes in MLS. Being given the keys to the offense playing counter to one of the league’s most talented #10s is a fantastic opportunity for Guti to show what he’s capable of.

Let’s Not Make a Habit of It

Frank Klopas has often been criticized for making defensive substitutions late in games – playing “not to lose” rather than to win. Well, down two goals with just over a quarter hour to go plus stoppage time, Klopas took off left back Chase Gasper and put on striker Tom Barlow, just a few minutes after he took off Shaqiri for Georgios Koutsias.

At that point the team had three strikers, an attacking midfielder in Brian Gutiérrez and two wingbacks – including Maren Haile-Selassie, a converted winger, alongside defensive midfielders with real offensive upside in Fabian Herbers (who has played as a winger for the Fire and started his career at striker) and Kellyn Acosta.

That’s basically eight players who can add to the attack and two center backs on the field for the Fire.

It worked, and it was great seeing Klopas try for a more attack-oriented formation, but at the same time, it’s unlikely we’ll see that formation again – and if we do, it is probably a sign of desperation, that things aren’t going remotely to plan.

How Will The Fire Line Up Against New England?

The Fire will likely keep the same basic 4-2-3-1 formation, particularly against a team that likes to play a similar formation.

Locked-in starters are Hugo Cuypers as the sole striker, Brian Gutiérrez (likely in the #10 central role this time around due to Shaqiri’s absence), Maren Haile-Selassie playing to his right, and Kellyn Acosta playing in the defensive midfield. Klopas confirmed in a midweek press conference that Spencer Richey would be starting in goal for the first time this season, with Chris Brady away on international duty.

To Gutiérrez’s left, we’ll likely see Chris Mueller getting his first start since his injury last spring.

Acota’s partner in the defensive midfield will likely be Fabian Herbers due to his strong start so far this season, but it isn’t out of the questions that Gastón Giménez, who did not make an appearance last week, will get the nod.

On the back line, Allan Arigoni seems to be the only truly locked-in starter at this point. With no definitive word yet on when to expect Andre Gutman’s return, Chase Gasper seems primed to get the nod at left back. Gasper seemed overwhelmed by Montréal’s attack last week, and his play gave Montréeal their first penalty kick – and goal – of the match just five minutes in, but he still played well in spurts and the team has no other natural players at his position. Jonathan Dean was pressed into service there for a few minutes earlier this season, and the team could try playing a winger there instead, but that isn’t a good solution or an entire match. Hopefully, Gasper can take advantage of the minutes he’s being given and find more consistent form, particularly on defense.

At center back, Klopas has several questions with no clear answers. On one hand Rafael Czichos’s best game of the season was against Montréal, and the improvement is welcome. On the other, it still wasn’t a stellar performance and he seems to have lost a step compared to the form he displayed on joining the team in 2022. The former captain’s performance and the veteran presence he brings to the back line is likely enough to keep him in the XI.

His partner will likely be Tobias Salquist, who started off poorly against Montréal (conceding the Fire’s second penalty and earning a yellow card) in the process, and was growing to the game before being pulled at half, likely due to his card.

At the same time, Carlos Terán looked like the best center back on the roster when he came on for Salquist against Montréal (earning his first minutes of 2024 in the process, having been injured in the preseason), ending the game with an assist alongside a strong defensive performance. He certainly made a case to be in the XI with the minutes he was given, but a smart hunch is that Klopas gives Salquist another shot while keeping Czichos on the pitch due to his experience.