A win on Saturday would be the Fire’s 3rd in their last 4 matches. Coming off of their first home victory of the season last weekend against Minnesota, Chicago should feel confident in their ability to produce a result against the Union; whose last MLS victory was against the Fire over a month ago now.
Chicago’s first match against the Union this season was certainly one that Fire fans would have wanted to erase from their memory. The Fire were forced to defend with 10 men for practically the entire 2nd half and were able to keep the match goalless until the 90th minute. A fluke goal from Philadelphia in the final minutes of the match secured the Union all 3 points and sent the Fire back to Chicago empty-handed.
It’s good news for the Fire in terms of injuries. Federico Navarro and Jairo Torres are now both possible inclusions for tonight’s match; they trained throughout this week and should be available for selection. Xherdan Shaqiri also remains a question mark for tomorrow. The Swiss international’s last match came against the Union back in March and has not been fit enough to return to play since.
Victor Bezerra is the only Fire player who is 100% ruled out for tonight’s game, though as the fifth striker in the depth chart he likely wouldn’t have played anyway.
Left-back Kai Wagner had started and played all 90 minutes in the Union’s opening 5 league matches. Since his last match against Orlando City at the end of March, however, the German hasn’t been fit enough to make the Union’s bench and remains questionable for tonight.
The match will be streamed on Apple TV via the MLS Season Pass. Tony Husband and Ross Smith will be calling the match.
Chicago Fire vs. Philadelphia Union
MLS Matchday 8 | Saturday, April 15 | Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
Kickoff: 7:30 PM CST
Watch: Apple TV (MLS Season Pass)
Commentators: Tony Husband (play-by-play) / Ross Smith (analyst)
