New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire Prediction, Preview and Odds - 10/16/21
New England vs Chicago 8-14
Chicago is well out of the playoff picture and they look to score a huge upset Saturday facing a New England club that has the most points in the MLS.
The Fire were beaten badly in their last match and they have the third-fewest points in the Eastern Conference. A few matches back they lost to the Revolution 3-2 at home and they played to a draw with them in their season-opener. Chicago’s main issue on the season has been a defense that has conceded the fourth-most goals in MLS.
New England has the most points in the MLS, has won their last three matches, and are unbeaten in their last six matches. The club has scored the most goals in the league and they will be the first seed in the playoffs, as they have an 18-point lead over second-place Nashville in the Eastern Conference.
Good Start, Bad Finish
In their last match Chicago was on the road losing to Toronto 3-1 where they scored the first goal after the 16th minute but then gave up three unanswered goals. Robert Beric scored the lone goal in the loss where the club were outshot and outshot on goals on target. The Fire have yet to win since they fired their head coach and they have given up at least two goals in six of their last seven matches.
Not only has the defense struggled for the Fire this season but so has the attack tied for second for the fewest goals in the East. Luka Stojanovic leads the club with seven goals but missed the last match is questionable facing New England. Ignacio Aliseda ranks second on the team with five goals but has not scored in the last several matches and Álvaro Medrán and Boris Sekulic have combined for 10 assists. DF Francisco Calvo and MF are both questionable for the match this Saturday.
The Rout Is On
New England was north of the border in their last match where they routed CF Montreal 4-1. They were up 3-0 after the first 30 minutes and DeJuan Joes, Adam Buksa, Rudy Camacho, and Gustavo Bou all found the back of the net. The Revolution won in convincing fashion even though they lost the time of possession battle (53% to 47%) and they had the same number of shots on goal (7).
Adam Buksa and Gustavo Bou each have 13 goals to lead New England and Buksa had scored a goal in four straight matches before failing to do so in the last one. Bou had a goal and assist in the win over Montreal and he has three assists in his last three matches. Carles Gil is among the league leaders with 12 assists and Bou has six. The Revolution are dealing with some injury concerns, as FW Gil, MF Bou, DF Jon Bell, FW Edward Kizza, MF Maciel, and MF Emmanuel Boateng are all listed as questionable.
Pick: New England -239
The Revolution have been the best team in MLS on the season and they are strong on both sides of the pitch. They beat Chicago recently on the road scoring three goals and they scored four goals in their last match. I think at some point they will rest some key players but not in this match at home. Chicago only has one win in their last seven matches and they are 0-1-1 in two matches facing the Revolution this season. They have had issues on both sides of the pitch and after a shutout win, they gave up three goals in their last match facing a Toronto club that is in second to last place in the East. Look for this game to be pretty close but for New England to come through at home with yet another win.
Total: Over 2.5 goals
I am leaning towards the Over in this match, as that has been the winning pick for both matches between these teams this season. The Revolution have a solid attack and they scored four goals in their last match and have scored five facing Chicago this season. New England has conceded two goals in each of their matches facing the Fire this season and while they have been playing well, they have not had a clean sheet in their last five matches. The Revolution will score multiple goals in this one but will not keep a clean sheet again, which is why the Over is the pick.