Who will be on the field for the Chicago Fire in Game Two on Saturday night at Toyota Park? Specifically, who will be at the back for Denis Hamlett’s charges, given all the injury uncertainty? The Revs won’t feel sorry for the Fire as far as injuries go, but given all of Hamlett’s selection issues for just that reason – injuries – there is a lot of speculation about who the Fire’s 11 will be on Saturday night for the series decider.

Mike Banner, a good young midfielder with a future in MLS, got done for fun in Game One. Not only did Sainey Nyassi make his life miserable, but he allowed Emmanuel Osei to get across the front of him on the Revs first goal. Attacking players are like so many sharks and when they smell blood…watch out. It’s been pointed out, too, that Banner’s confidence could take more of a hit reading and hearing all the criticisms of him in the media this week. Thing is, Hamlett doesn’t have much choice.

According to Gonzalo Segares himself, he reinjured himself in his substitute appearance last game and is out for Saturday night’s affair. Hamlett then tried to reel that back in (Segares is listed by the Fire as “Questionable” ) but it sounds like Segares is unfit.

We’re also hearing that between headaches, a hip injury and a hamstring that Wilman Conde is unlikely to feature, either. If so, that’s great news for the Revs. Conde, for me, is a Best XI caliber defender who is also decent with the ball and can score on set pieces…so good riddance from a New England perspective (though here’s hoping he stays in the league next season, I like his game).

And, erstwhile right back Tim Ward is still on the shelf. There’s been some talk of Daniel Woolard – who had three straight starts in July and played 378 minutes at left back – being back in the mix, but he’s been dealing with an ankle injury for the last two months-plus.

So, how does the Fire set up, presuming Banner does not get the start? Well, one possibility is that the slowish-but-savvy Brandon Prideaux slides from right back to the left side of defense, with Austin Washington coming in at right full back and the central pairing of Dasan Robinson and C.J. Brown remaining unchanged. Now, I didn’t have any spies at Fire training, but Washington did start four regular season games and Chicago did play that same back line most recently in a 3-2 win over Colorado on August 23.

We are reading that John Thorrington will likely return from his groin and hip injuries which have kept him out of the last couple of months. He’s a good player – he gets up and down, is clean on the ball and has some bite to his game (remember his crushing tackle on Jeff Larentowicz in last year’s Game Two in Chicago?). Still, he can’t be that fit after missing so much time.

The other big question besides who starts for Chicago – will the Revs attack? It took Chris Rolfe’s goal to wake up the Revs in Game One. You know that the Fire are going to be buoyed at home and that Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Brian McBride are going to be gunning. But the longer Chicago goes without a series equalizer, and especially if they fall behind, they are going to have to push numbers forward.

The thing is, the Revs haven’t looked particularly potent on the break most of the season. Presuming Edgaras Jankauskas plays - despite his mysterious illness - the Revs should be able to get Kheli Dube and the Gambians running off of Edgar. Should. The good news is, the Revs are suddenly deadly on dead balls and those set plays could again be of vital importance, as they were in Game One.

I think the Revs will be able to compress space with Red and Dread like they did last week and limit the Chicago attack. If Jankauskas doesn’t play, we know a guy who can fill in pretty well at forward. And if New England can weather the opening 15-20 minutes without conceding they could be in great shape.

The bottom line is the Revs are in the driver’s seat heading into Bridgeview. A win or a draw gets New England into the Eastern Conference Championship game, which would be at Gillette Stadium against Real Salt Lake if the Revs do advance. That’s a lot to play for.

Make sure to tune in at halftime on WRKO and here streaming live on revolutionsoccer.net tomorrow during Game Two - Taylor Twellman will join Greg Lalas and me in the booth for a live interview and game analysis.