Revolution II Preview: 8/31 vs Chicago Fire II
Revs II return home looking to prevent their winless streak extending to double digits.
New England Revolution II will look to right the ship following an unsuccessful two-game road trip. Catch up on everything you need to know as Revs II return home in desperate search of a win.
Date: Saturday, August 31st
Opponent: Chicago Fire II
Time: 6:00 PM ET
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
Broadcast: MLS Season Pass - Apple TV
Weather: Saturday looks to be a warm and muggy one inside Gillette. The temperature at kickoff will sit at 76° with humidity in the upper 70s. Scattered storms are slated to roll through the area Saturday night. Hopefully, they don’t impact the game too much.
New England Revolution II:
Richie Williams and Revs II took the pitch at Truist Point, looking to snap an eight-game losing streak and earn their first road win in 2024.
Things got off to a tremendous start when Jack Panayotou lobbed a ball forward to Alex Monis, who got on top of it and slotted it home to put Revs II up 16 minutes in.
Four minutes later, Revs II saw everything change as Javaun Mussenden received his second yellow card and was ejected in the 20th minute. Mussenden will serve his one-game suspension for the infringement against Chicago Fire II.
Despite being a man down, Revolution II stood tall for most of the match. That changed in the closing five minutes.Â
After getting on top of a clearance from Revs II’s defensive half, Ozzie Ramos booted a ball downfield. Derek Cuevas got under Ramos’ lofted ball and headed a ball into the box. Facundo Canete ran onto the ball and buried it past JD Gunn to level the match in the 85th minute.
It looked as if both sides would walk away with a point and fight for an additional one in a shootout, but things changed in the first minute of stoppage time. After shaking off a defender, Jacob Evans crossed a ball into the box. Facundo Canete headed the ball past Gunn to find his second goal of the match and propel Carolina Core to a 2-1 win as Revs II winless streak extended to nine.
Saturday’s match provides former Chicago Fire Homegrown Alex Monis another opportunity to ball out against his former club. Three of Monis’ eight goals on the season have come against Fire II. For Revolution II’s sake, let’s hope Saturday is another good outing for Monis.
Chicago Fire II:
2024 has been an up-and-down year for Ludovic Taillenandier and Fire II. They enter Saturday’s match in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 36 points on an 8-7-7 record with five shootout victories.
Like Revs II, Fire II’s recent run of form hasn’t been too good. Fire II is amidst a four-game winless run.
After suffering back-to-back-to-back losses, they snapped their losing streak in their most recent meeting when they secured a 2-2 draw against NYCFC II before suffering a 7-6 loss in the shootout.Â
Revolution II’s defense and goalkeeping will have a monumental task on Saturday, and that’s keeping David Poreba off the scoresheet. The 21-year-old is running away in the Golden Boot race as he’s tallied 17 goals in 22 appearances for Chicago. Poreba netted both of Chicago’s goals in a 2-2 draw against New York and has scored in four of his last five appearances.
Poreba isn’t the only one producing for Chicago, as midfielder Harold Osorio and forward Christian Koffi have factored into Fire II’s success. Osorio has tallied nine goals in 14 appearances, while Koffi leads Fire II in assists with four.
Fire II comes into Matchweek 25 near the top in many statistical categories. They’re in a three-way tie for fifth-most goals per game and are in a four-way tie for sixth-most shots on target per match, lead the league in penalties awarded, and rank fifth in touches in the opponents box.
Luckily for Revs II, Fire II also co-leads the league in penalties conceded and conceded the sixth most goals per game.
Previous Meetings:
Saturday marks the seventh all-time meeting between Chicago and New England. It’s been dead even through the first six meetings, as both sides hold a 2-2-2 record against one another.
Their inaugural match on June 26, 2022, saw a flurry of goals. Despite Michel Costa finding the net in second-half stoppage time, it wasn’t enough as Revs II suffered a 4-3 loss.
Pierre Cayet’s 52nd-minute goal was the deciding factor in their August 14, 2022 meeting, as Revs II secured a 1-0 shutout victory.
Both sides walked away with points on June 11, 2023, when they played to a 2-2 draw. Revs II secured the additional point with a 4-3 shootout win.
July 30, 2023, saw another draw as things ended 1-1 following 90 minutes. Fire II walked away with the additional point as they secured a 5-3 shootout victory.
The force was with Revs II in their May 4, 2024 meeting, as Alex Monis’ brace had Revs II rolling with a 2-0 lead. Chicago came back to score two of their own, but a crucial Fire II mistake in stoppage time awarded Revs II a penalty kick with the chance to find the winning goal. Marcos Dias stepped to the spot and buried it to net a club record-setting 18th career goal to propel Revs II to a 3-2 victory.
Fire II saw victory in the most recent meeting on July 21 as they secured a 3-2 win, as both sides did all their scoring in the opening 45 minutes.