The Chicago Fire (4-9-3, 15 points) begin a frenetic stretch of five matches in 15 days Saturday against Western Conference co-leaders Seattle Sounders FC (10-7-2, 32 points). The Fire, who maintain at least two games in hand on all but three of their fellow Eastern Conference sides, are seeking their first cross-conference victory of 2015.
Pre-match coverage begins on Comcast SportsNet Chicago at 7 p.m. CT followed by kickoff at 7:30 p.m. The match also will be simulcast with a Spanish-language broadcast on CSN+, the first of three such broadcasts this month.
Chicago Fire vs. Seattle Sounders FC is presented by The PrivateBank, with the first 5,000 fans in attendance at Toyota Park receiving a Chicago Fire ballcap courtesy of The PrivateBank. The Fire also will celebrate Chicago Soccer Heritage Night on the occasion.
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<b>Nyarko, Shipp Preview #CHIvSEA</b> |
Familiar Names Returning to Action
Mike Magee and Patrick Nyarko, two of the names most familiar to Chicago Fire supporters, have recently made a significant impact following their return from lengthy rehab stints. Magee appeared as a substitute in two MLS matches before making his first start of 2015 in the Fire’s U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 match vs. Charlotte Independence, netting a brace and playing the full 90 minutes in leading the Men In Red to a 3-1 victory. His 82nd-minute strike came off a feed from Nyarko, whose first touch of the ball saw him split two defenders and set up Magee for the score.
Nyarko, who suffered a torn ACL last October, then delivered another bit of magic in his first MLS match of 2015. The Ghanaian came on as a halftime substitute last Friday vs. Houston Dynamo and, after Houston seized a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute, cleaned up a loose ball in the penalty area to equalize for the Fire and register his 20th all-time goal for the club.
Chicago Fire vs. Seattle Sounders FC
The Chicago Fire are aiming to enter the win column in the all-time series with Seattle, having lost six times and drawn three in nine regular-season meetings with the Sounders. Seattle also has won the only two U.S. Open Cup clashes between the two sides (2011, 2014). Last season, Seattle’s Obafemi Martins scored twice before seeing a red card in the 41st minute, and a Lamar Neagle strike in the 78th minute proved necessary to cancel out Harry Shipp’s brace for the Fire in a 3-2 Sounders victory on June 7.
Like the Fire, Seattle enters Saturday's match lacking several of its top stars. Clint Dempsey (USA), Brad Evans (USA) and former Fire midfielder Marco Pappa (Guatemala) are away on international duty in the ongoing CONCACAF Gold Cup, while Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins continues to rehab an adductor injury suffered June 17. In goal, the rock-solid Stefan Frei is expected to miss a start after sustaining an injury Friday vs. D.C. United, leaving MLS veteran Troy Perkins as the probable starter Saturday at Toyota Park.
#CHIvSEA: Notes and Quotes
– On what the Fire need to do to get a good result Saturday, head coach Frank Yallop said, “Just finishing our chances. I think it’s haunted us a little bit this season. We’re giving up goals at the wrong times in games. We’ve talked about it. We’ve worked on it.”
– Patrick Nyarko and Mike Magee progressed to 45 and 31 minutes, respectively, in last week’s draw at Houston (though Magee did play the full 90 in U.S. Open Cup play on June 30). Yallop expects those minutes to continue to grow and said he anticipates both will be available to start against Seattle. “One of them or both could start,” he said. “We just want to make sure that we manage their minutes and make sure we don’t get them to break down.”
– Although David Accam continues to improve after his hamstring injury, a Saturday appearance is still questionable. “David might have a chance of being a sub,” Yallop said, “but it’s still touch-and-go right now.”
– Adaílton was working with fitness coach Adrian Lamb on Thursday while recovering from a groin injury. “Hopefully he’ll be OK for at least some type of minutes maybe on the weekend, but for sure on Wednesday,” Yallop said. Should the Brazilian not be able to go, Yallop said Eric Gehrig and Matt Polster would be the centerback pairing.
– An appearance in Saturday's match would mark the 50th career regular season appearance for Shipp. The Lake Forest, Ill. native became the first Homegrown player in club history to make a MLS appearance when he started against the Portland Timbers on March 16, 2014. Shipp is the lone member of the Fire to appear in all 16 matches in 2015.
– On Oct. 3, the Chicago Fire will be honoring the club's all-time leading goal-scorer, Ante Razov, as the
latest inductee into the distinguished Ring of Fire
. On Saturday, however, Razov will be in Toyota Park focused squarely on securing three points as a Seattle Sounders assistant coach. With Dempsey and Martins currently out of the picture for the Sounders, one of Razov's primary pupils among the corps of strikers is Chad Barrett, the 2005 first-round MLS SuperDraft selection of the Chicago Fire. Barrett spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Men In Red, scoring 18 MLS goals in his tenure.
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Opponent Profile:
Record: 10-2-7, 32 points
Last four matches: 2-0-3, 6 points
Goals leader: Clint Dempsey/Obafemi Martins (7)
Assists leader: Clint Dempsey (6)
Saves leader: Stefan Frei (71)
Numbers To Know:
4 – Points accumulated by Seattle in seven matches without Clint Dempsey. Sounders FC also are 0-1-4 in road matches without their star forward. As noted above, Dempsey is among several key contributors slated to miss Saturday's match.
54.4 – Seattle’s league-leading possession percentage. Much of the credit should go to central midfielder Osvaldo Alonso, the only player in MLS who completes over 90 percent of his passes. It’s a disciplined side that has shown to be extremely difficult to break down.
4.3 – Difference in shots per game between Chicago and Seattle in the home team’s favor. The Fire average a league-leading 14.6 shots per game compared to 10.3 for Sounders FC. However, Seattle averages more shots on goal and goals.
Keep An Eye On:
Lamar Neagle. Dempsey and Obafemi Martins have 14 goals and 10 assists combined this year, but neither has played since June 13 and neither will be available Saturday. Since then, only two goals have been mustered by Seattle in four games, one of them coming from Neagle. Though he has played in the midfield, Neagle has said playing forward feels more natural, and it certainly looks that way when he uses cleverly-timed runs to get in behind the defense. He’s also capable of letting rip from distance with his right foot, making him a serious threat for the Fire back line to deal with.
Quest for the Cup Continues July 22
Continuing their quest for a fifth Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup crown, the Chicago Fire are set to host fellow MLS side Orlando City SC in a quarterfinal matchup at Toyota Park on Wednesday, July 22 (7:30 p.m. CT). The Fire advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 3-1 win over USL side Charlotte Independence on June 30, while Orlando City advanced courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Columbus Crew SC. Orlando City will be making its second trip to Bridgeview after claiming a 3-2 victory at Toyota Park back on June 6. Tickets to the July 22 matchup are available at Chicago-Fire.com, at the Toyota Park Box Office or by calling 888-MLS-FIRE.
Possession statistics courtesy WhoScored.com
