The Chicago Fire and New England Revolution have a lot of history in the fall: The two teams have met in the postseason seven times, including two conference finals that sent the winner on to MLS Cup.
Last year, the Fire's 3-2 victory over the Revs at SeatGeek Stadium virtually eliminated any chance that New England had of making the postseason, as a dejected and subdued Caleb Porter admitted after the game. The then-Revolution head coach was relieved of his duties just nine days later.
That makes it only fitting that in 2026, the final year where MLS's playoffs will occur in the autumn, the Fire are facing the Revolution with an opportunity to clinch a spot in the postseason for a second year in a row.
They'll have headwinds: Jack Elliott will not be available as he serves the first of a two-game suspension, all but certainly lining up Andreas Hanche-Olsen for his first MLS start. With Sam Rogers injured, that likely leaves Noah Allen as the only other center back option, raising the question of whether he is a realistic option to reprise his role at left back from Wednesday.
Midfield rotations may also prove a challenge for the Fire: Anton Salétros has recently returned from injury, and although he's held up well, he's blown past minutes restrictions, raising questions as to how much he'll be available for this one, and Anzor Mekvabishvili is listed as questionable after suffering an injury on international duty; another injury from national team play has also ruled Robin Lod unavailable for this one.
The Fire do have plenty of other options in the position, including Sergio Oregel Jr. and Mauricio Pineda, both of whom featured and played better than most of the squad on Wednesday. Djé D'Avilla will once again be available for selection after being sent off against New York City last Saturday. He had been putting together some of his best performances in a Fire uniform until that disastrous outing.
Suspensions are a theme in this one: Revolution Head Coach Marko Mitrović, a former Fire assistant, won't be in the dugout after being sent off on Wednesday. The Revolution will also be without Jack Harrison, a onetime Fire draft pick just brought over from Leeds, forward Leo Campana, center back Mamdou Fofana, and midfielder Alhassan Yusuf.
The last time the Fire made the playoffs for consecutive years, their first opponent was the Revolution, with the Fire going on to win the home-and-away series on goal differential.
This time, all it will take for the Fire to make it back to the playoffs is a single point – but that likely won't be satisfying to the group. When these two teams met last month at Soldier Field, the Fire put out the dominant effort, controlling possession and peppering the Revolution's Matt Turner with 22 shots, but a pair of goals from transition moments on either side of half cost the Fire, and the team lost 2-1.
A draw may be mission accomplished, but they'll want to exact revenge.
