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Chivas USA-Revolution Preview

May 5, 2010 - 2:40 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

Chivas USA (2-3-1) at New England (2-3-1), 7:30 p.m. EDT

The New England Revolution were hoping an early three-game homestand would help them make a move in the standings. This hasn't been the case, but they appear to have a good chance of salvaging the finale.

Seeking their first win in nearly a month, the Revolution look to stay unbeaten against Chivas USA at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night.

New England (2-3-1) got off to a decent start, splitting its first four games to move into second place in the Eastern Conference, three points back of first-place New York.

The Revs appeared to have a good chance to build on that success, but have earned one point in the last two games to drop eight back of the Red Bulls. New England opened its longest homestand of the year April 24 with a 2-1 loss to Colorado, and followed that with Saturday's 1-1 tie against winless FC Dallas.

Although the Revs failed to beat Dallas, they took some positives from the draw.

Rookie striker Zack Schilawski scored his fourth goal of the season and New England played the final 18 minutes two men down without surrendering a goal. Kheli Dube was given a red card in the 56th minute and Joseph Niouky was red-carded in the 72nd.

"All things considered, to walk out with a point, I think everyone is content - sure as (anything) not happy - but content would be the best way to say it," goalkeeper Preston Burpo said.

Burpo, who played for Chivas USA in 2006 and '07, made a career-best 10 saves last weekend in another strong effort in place of Matt Reis.

New England, which hasn't won since defeating Toronto FC 4-1 on April 10, placed Reis on the disabled list last week with left shoulder and left knee injuries. This will be the club's first game against Chivas USA (2-3-1) without its star goalkeeper.

The Revs are 4-0-1 all-time against Chivas at Gillette Stadium, with Reis yielding only two goals.

With Reis out, Burpo has proved to be a solid replacement, allowing seven goals through six games. He'll now be facing a Chivas team that has been shut out in half its games.

"I definitely look at this - in my eyes - as a must-win game for us, especially with this being the last game of the homestand," Darrius Barnes told the Revs' official website. "We don't want to go winless in this homestand."

Chivas, meanwhile, is seeking its first road win of the season, having scored just once in its first three games away from The Home Depot Center. The team believes it's heading in the right direction, though, after earning a 1-1 tie in Chicago on Saturday.

"(The Chicago game) gives us confidence," midfielder Blair Gavin said. "We were down on the road and we came back and tied the game up."

Maicon Santos, who already has sat out two games with a knee injury, scored his first goal on a header off a corner kick in the 76th minute against the Fire.