Chicago Fire and Montreal Impact Clash in Pivotal Match Saturday Night

The Chicago Fire have their bags packed for the second of three consecutive road contests, which sees the Men In Red travel to Stade Saputo for a key Saturday night matchup with the Montreal Impact. Both sides, separated by a single point in the table, are equally hungry to walk away with the three points in an effort to remain in the hunt for one of six Eastern Conference playoff spots. 
Before the match kicks off, fans are advised to tune into CSN Chicago beginning at 6 p.m. CT Saturday to catch the debut of "Inside Look presented by Cadillac" profiling Chicago Fire midfielder David Accam. Hosted by CSN Chicago's Kelly Crull, the 30-minute program provides the in-depth story of Accam's journey from a young standout at the Right To Dream Academy in Ghana to one of the most dynamic attacking threats in Major League Soccer.
CSN Chicago's Pregame Live show begins at 6:30 p.m. CT, followed by kickoff at 7 p.m. CT. 

Chicago owns a 3-2-4 all-time mark against Montreal since the Impact's debut MLS season in 2012, but have yet to earn a point in two previous outings at Stade Saputo. 
On Saturday, uncertainty may well be the name of the game, with both clubs missing numerous starters to international dutyand plenty of personnel questions surrounding the home side. Montreal last week opted to make Frank Klopas the first head coaching casualty of the 2015 Major League Soccer season, making it anyone's guess as to how the Impact will react in their first match under the direction of Mauro Biello. 
“You’re going to play a team [with a] new head coach, new everything, kind of in a state of flux," said Chicago Fire midfielder Harry Shipp. "Hopefully we’re able to take advantage of that, playing them at the right time. It’s going to be tough. We’re missing players to international stuff. About us, just keep going, try to create some goals and defend solidly in two blocks of four.”
On the field, even beyond the Impact's international absences, Montreal's probable lineup selections are further clouded by the possibility of Didier Drogba and Ignacio Piatti's inclusion. Drogba has played only 31 minutes in a substitute role since his celebrated arrival in Montreal, while Piatti, the dynamic Argentine midfielder, has not played since Aug. 8 while managing a calf injury. Both were reported to have trained in full on Thursday. 
Regardless of the team in front of them, the Chicago Fire will be doing all they can to earn their first road victory of the season despite the absence of starters David Accam, Matt Polster and Joevin Jones. Doing so will require the kind of attacking mentality Chicago put forth against Montreal back on May 30 and again in last week's 3-2 win over the New York Red Bulls. 
“You look at that [May 30] game, we jumped on them from the start," said captain Jeff Larentowicz. "I think the first half, we were all over them. David was incredibly dangerous. I know that he won’t be with us this week, but it’s sort of a template for what we want to do. They’re a good team. They’re a team in an identical situation to us. I think they’re fighting really hard to get into the playoffs. It’s going to be an intense one, but certainly one that we can win.”
But this match could present more challenges than that 3-0 win did. Chicago head coach Frank Yallop noted the threats that the Impact have up front. Drogba was not with the team until about two months after Montreal came to Toyota Park, and Dominic Oduro missed that game with a groin injury.
Now, both are available, and Yallop has to be prepared for one, the other, or both. Just as his lineup is anyone’s guess, he won’t know what Biello plans to do until an hour before kickoff. Yallop and the Fire plan to be ready for anything.
“They’ve got capable players of winning games,” Yallop said of Montreal. “Until we get the lineup, we don’t know what they’re going to do. Didier Drogba’s not played. He may start, he may not. If you’ve focused all week on him starting and all of a sudden he’s not in there, you’ve got Dominic Oduro, a completely different player.
“For us, it’s just getting ready for whatever they put out. We’ve mentioned both players. They could play together as well. For me, it’s just making sure our guys are ready to go and ready to fight and get that win that we need.”