Coming off of a 3-3 thriller in league play against Atlanta United on Saturday, the Chicago Fire are back in action today in the U.S. Open Cup.
In the Fire’s last cup outing, they defeated their new midwest rivals, St. Louis CITY, by a score of 2-1 at home. Against St. Louis, the Fire started with a nearly full-strength XI and we can expect them to do the same tonight against Austin.
Given the great historical importance that the Open Cup has to the Fire, it is critical that the Fire wins this tough match away from home and advances to the quarterfinals. Especially after their poor start to the MLS season, the Fire will be looking to build some momentum and confidence by advancing to the next round.
Away from home and with Austin having won their last two league matches, this will be no easy match, however.
In terms of injuries for the Fire, defenders, Jonathan Dean and Carlos Terán are both ruled out for tonight’s match. Sergio Orgel Jr. is listed as a questionable inclusion along with Chris Mueller, who did feature in Saturday’s match as a substitute.
Star striker Kei Kamara is not listed in the injury report, but is unlikely to start/feature in tonight’s match. The veteran picked up an injury in training on Friday that forced him to miss the match against Atlanta on Saturday and is most likely not fit to return tonight.
For Austin, Sebastian Druissi, Zan Kolmanić, and Owen Wolff are all unavailable for tonight’s match.
The match will be streamed on Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel at this link.
Chicago Fire FC vs. Austin FC
U.S. Open Cup – Round of 16 | Wednesday, May 24 | Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas
Kickoff: 8:00 PM CST
Watch: Bleacher Report (YouTube)
Commentators: Jason Eastern (play-by-play) and Ricky Lopez-Espin (analyst)
