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Major League Soccer
Sep 8, 2024 at 1.30am UK
Soldier Field
DU

Chicago Fire
1 - 2
DC United

Gutman (54')
Gutman (45+1')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Benteke (26'), Pirani (29')
Badji (73'), Klich (90')

Preview: Chicago Fire vs. DC United - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Chicago Fire vs. DC United - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Sunday's Major League Soccer clash between Chicago Fire and DC United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Two sides separated by three points in the Eastern Conference standings go head to head on Saturday evening when Chicago Fire play host to DC United at Soldier Field.

While both sides sit outside the playoff places, a win here could hand them a fighting chance in the qualifying race heading into the business end of the regular MLS season.


Match preview

Chicago Fire looked set to mount a late push for a playoff spot when they fought back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against New York City FC in their first outing after Leagues Cup action on August 25.

However, Frank Klopas's men suffered a fresh setback last Sunday as they fell to a 4-1 defeat against a rampant Inter Miami when the two sides squared off at Soldier Field.

After a brace from Luis Suarez and Tobias Salquist's 25th-minute own goal put Inter Miami in a commanding lead, Georgios Koutsias pulled one back for the hosts in the 82nd minute, but Robert Taylor netted in the 93rd minute to regain the Heron's three-goal advantage.

Chicago Fire have now gone five consecutive games without a win across all competitions, picking up one draw and losing four, including back-to-back defeats against Sporting Kansas City and Toluca in the Leagues Cup, when they finished rock-bottom in Group D.

With 26 points from 27 matches, the Men in Red are currently 14th in the Eastern Conference standings, level on points with New England Revolution and Nashville in the bottom three and 11 points off the seventh-placed Orlando City.

While finishing in the guaranteed playoff places may be out of reach for Chicago Fire, they will have their sights on securing a spot in the wild-card round as they sit five points behind Atlanta United in ninth place with seven games to go.

DC United, on the other hand, picked up a huge result in their push for a post-season playoff spot as they secured a 3-1 victory over Toronto FC at BMO Field last Sunday.

With nothing to separate the sides heading into the final quarter of an hour, substitutes Martin Rodriguez, Dominique Badji and Gabriel Pirani all hit the target to inspire the visitors to all three points, with Deandre Kerr pulling one back for Toronto.

Prior to that, DC United were on a run of two consecutive defeats, losing 2-1 against Mexican outfit Mazatlan in the Leagues Cup round of 32 on August 10, two weeks before losing 4-3 against Dallas on their return to league action.

With last weekend's result, Troy Lesesne's men have now picked up three wins from four games in MLS, a run which has rekindled their playoff dreams, having managed just three points from 11 matches preceding this run.

While victory on Saturday could see DC United move into ninth place and within five points of guaranteed top-seven places, they have failed to win any of their last nine visits to Soldier Field, losing three and claiming six draws since a 1-0 victory in June 2015.

Chicago Fire Major League Soccer form:


Chicago Fire form (all competitions):


DC United Major League Soccer form:


DC United form (all competitions):


Team News

Chicago Fire will take to the pitch without the services of veteran defender Rafael Czichos, who is suspended after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Inter Miami on Sunday.

On the injury front, Klopas will be unable to name the American duo of 26-year-old Mauricio Pineda and defender Chase Gasper, who have been ruled out through leg issues.

Ariel Lassiter, who has three goals and five assists in the league, is currently on duty with the Costa Rica national team while Koutsias has been named in the Greece Under-21 squad.

DC United, meanwhile, will have to cope without several key players down the spine of the team as David Schnegg (calf) Matai Akinmboni (ankle) and Conner Antley (knee) are all recuperating from injuries.

American forward Jackson Hopkins has been out of action since early August through an ankle problem while Russell Canouse continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Boris Enow has been named in the Cameroon squad for September's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, while Aaron Herrera and Matti Peltola are on duty for Guatemala and Finland respectively.

Christian Benteke had an uncharacteristically quiet game against Toronto last time out and the Belgian striker, who has 17 league goals this season, will aim to return to the scoresheet this weekend.


Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Souquet, Salquist, Teran; Mueller, Navarro, Gimenez, Gutman; Haile-Selassie, Cuypers, Gutierrez

DC United possible starting lineup:
Bono; Tubbs, Bartlett, Mcvey, Santos; Stroud, Klich, Pirani, Dajome; Benteke, Ku-DiPietro


We say: Chicago Fire 2-2 DC United

Given the stakes of the game, we expect a thrilling contest at Soldier Field as both Chicago Fire and DC United aim to secure post-season football. While the Men in Red have struggled for results of late, they boast a solid home record against Lesesne's men and we predict that they will do just enough to force a share of the spoils.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.




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Premier League Table

Eastern Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter MiamiInter Miami34228479493074
2Columbus Crew34199672403266
3FC CincinnatiCincinnati341851158481059
4Orlando City34157125950952
5Charlotte FCCharlotte FC34149114637951
6New York City FCNY City34148125449550
7New York Red BullsNY Red Bulls34111495550547
8CF MontrealMontreal341110134864-1643
9Atlanta UnitedAtlanta341010144649-340
10DC United341010145270-1840
11Philadelphia UnionPhiladelphia34910156255737
12Toronto34114194061-2137
13Nashville SCNashville3499163854-1636
14New England RevolutionNew England3494213774-3731
15Chicago Fire3479184062-2230

Western Conference

TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Los Angeles FCLos Angeles34197863432064
2Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy34197869501964
3Real Salt LakeSalt Lake341611765481759
4Seattle SoundersSeattle34169951351657
5Houston DynamoHouston34159104739854
6Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd34157125849952
7Colorado RapidsColorado34155146160150
8Portland TimbersPortland341211116556947
9Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver34138135249347
10Austin FCAustin34119143948-942
11Dallas34118155456-241
12St Louis City34813135063-1337
13Sporting Kansas CityKansas3487195166-1531
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes3463254178-3721
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