Up next for Chivas USA: Friday vs. New England

CHIVAS USA TONIGHT

VS. NEW ENGLAND

When: 7:30.

Where: Home Depot Center.

On the air: TV: KDOC, KWHY; Radio: 690.

Records: Chivas USA 6-12-4, Revolution 7-12-3.

Record vs. Revolution: 1-0-0.

Update: The playoff hopes grow ever dimmer for both teams, and Friday night’s loser can probably start making alternate plans for November. New England rode the coaching talent of Steve Nicol for several years, but owner Robert Kraft’s penny-pinching has finally caught up with the Revolution, which has no players of any real quality apart from midfielder Shalrie Joseph. Chivas USA has simply had a miserable season and probably will undergo a remake before 2011. Whether Coach Martin Vasquez will be around to accomplish that could depend on how strongly the team finishes the year. New England’s defense is woeful on the road, but Chivas USA’s offense is equally pitiful at home, so the game is up for grabs. Chivas won, 4-0, at New England in May, but two starters could sit out Friday’s match, defender Jonathan Bornstein (right hip strain) and forward Giancarlo Maldonado (right hamstring strain).

—Grahame L. Jones