Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 9/22/21
New England was unable to secure all three points in its last meeting with Chicago, but it has a chance to avenge that draw on Wednesday. The Revolution are atop the Eastern Conference table and are coming off a 1-1 draw with Columbus. Chicago has been one of the worst teams in the MLS and has not scored in its last three matches.
New England is playoff-bound
New England can cruise to the playoffs at this point in the season. The Revolution have been dominant, leading the Eastern Conference by a wide margin. They are 15 points ahead of Nashville for the top spot in the standings. NYCFC and Orlando City are both 18 points back. New England was unable to pick up a win in its last match against Chicago, playing to a 2-2 draw in its season-opener on April 17. The Revolution are coming off another draw, as they finished in a 1-1 tie against Columbus on Saturday. They had picked up wins in their previous two matches.
Columbus got on the board first when Gyasi Zardes scored 13 minutes after halftime. New England was able to answer with a goal from Adam Buksa four minutes later. Columbus goalkeeper Eloy Room made consecutive saves on Buksa in the 90th minute to preserve the draw. The Revolution, who currently have 56 points, are on pace to break LAFC’s record for most points in a season (72). Manager Bruce Arena was disappointed with the draw against Columbus, so that attitude could carry over on Wednesday. Emmanuel Boateng and Maciel are expected to miss the match.
Chicago continues to struggle
Chicago is in the midst of its second straight disappointing season. The Fire missed out on a top 10 finish last year and are currently No. 12 in the standings. They are five points from last-place Toronto. Their playoff hopes are slim-to-none, as Philadelphia is 12 points ahead of them for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Chicago is coming off three really poor outings on the road. It was outscored 7-0 in three losses to Montreal, DC United and Sporting Kansas City. The Fire only have a few days off following their loss to Montreal on Sunday.
They were able to record four shots on target in the first half, but they came up short on all of those chances. Chicago allowed the first goal of the match 15 minutes after halftime and then gave up another goal with 10 minutes left in the game. The Fire only had 38% of the possession in the loss. They have won just six of their 25 matches this season and have given up more goals than every team except two in the conference. Kenneth Kronholm is still out for Chicago, while Francisco Cervo and Ignacio Aliseda are both doubtful.
Spread (New England +115)
New England could probably sleepwalk into the top playoff spot, but that is not the M.O. of this team. The Revolution were very disappointed with their loss to Columbus over the weekend and this gives them a perfect opportunity to let out some frustration. They have an additional motivation after playing to a draw with Chicago earlier this year. The Fire are basically out of the playoff race and have been shut out in three straight matches. They are dealing with some key absences as well.
Total (Under 3)
I think this very well could be a 2-0 or 3-0 final in favor of New England. The Revolution have scored more goals than any team in the MLS this year, so I would not make it a habit to take the under in their matches. However, this is one of those spots. Chicago is awful offensively right now, highlighted by three straight scoreless tilts. This is not the kind of match where the Fire are going to wake up and start putting the ball in the back of the net. I expected a motivated New England side to deal Chicago its fourth-straight shutout.