Chicago Fire vs. New York Red Bulls
2017 MLS Match Preview
Toyota Park – Bridgeview, Ill.
Saturday, September 9 – 3 pm CT
WATCH: UniMás, Facebook.com
The trade of Dax McCarty from the New York Red Bulls to the Chicago Fire has been one of the biggest storylines of the 2017 season, with the Fire briefly going from worst to first and the Red Bulls battling for Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoff positioning. Having already faced off once at Red Bull Arena, the two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon in a matchup that could help decide who gets to play at home in the Knockout Round in October.
While much of the league was off last week, both the Fire and Red Bulls played on Saturday night. The Fire snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Montreal Impact 1-0 in a match that saw Bastian Schweinsteiger score the game-winner and come off injured. The Red Bulls were only able to come away with a draw in Frisco, as they drew FC Dallas 2-2 despite being up a man for 53 minutes and holding a lead into the 74th minute.
Chicago Fire
- Suspended: None
- Int’l Duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT: M John Goossens (right ankle surgery), D Matej Dekovic (adductor injury), GK Jorge Bava (left elbow injury), M Daniel Johnson (left MCL injury), D Joao Meira (right calf injury), D Christian Dean (fifth metatarsal fracture); QUESTIONABLE: M Bastian Schweinsteiger
Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, R-L)
GK: Matt Lampson — Matt Polster, Johan Kappelhof, Jonathan Campbell, Brandon Vincent — Dax McCarty, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Juninho — Michael de Leeuw, Nemanja Nikolic, Luis Solignac
Notes: Chicago's losing slide was one game shy of the club-record five-game losing streak set on three occasions, last from Sept 5-26, 2015. The win over Montreal also ended a four-game road losing streak (and five in a row winless on the road). … Djordje Mihailovic recorded his first career MLS assist against , making his third career start, all over the last four matches.
New York Red Bulls
- Suspended: M Sean Davis (yellow card accumulation)
- Int’l Duty: None
- Injury Report: OUT: D Gideon Baah (broken leg), M Mike Grella (knee surgery); QUESTIONABLE: M Daniel Royer (knee injury), D Aurelien Collin (plantar fasciitis)
Projected Starting XI
(3-4-3, R-L)
GK: Luis Robles— Fidel Escobar, Aaron Long, Damien Perrinelle — Tyler Adams, Felipe, Sacha Kljestan, Kemar Lawrence — Muhamed Keita, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Alex Muyl
Notes: Aaron Long's goal against FC Dallas was his first in MLS, in his 27th career appearances. All his career appearances have come this season, his fourth in the league. … Bradley Wright-Phillips collected his first assist of the season against Dallas, his first since Aug. 21, 2016 vs. D.C. United.
All-Time Series
- Overall: Fire 26 wins (89 goals) … Red Bulls 17 wins (71 goals) … Ties 11
- At Chicago: Fire 15 wins (48 goals) … Red Bulls 4 wins (27 goals) … Ties 8
Referees
Referee: Alan Kelly
Assistant Referees: Matthew Nelson, Eric Weisbrod
Fourth Official: Daniel Radford
VAR: Jon Freemon
