The Fire find themselves staring down their postseason desires on Wednesday night in Minnesota, as head coach Raphael Wicky's men can remain in MLS Cup Playoffs contention with a win on the road.
Wednesday's match is the Fire's third-straight away from home, and their second-to-last match of the regular season. As it stands, they sit in the tenth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference coming out of their 1-1 draw at Nashville SC on Saturday. Minnesota enter the match in fourth place in the Western Conference having already clinched a place in the postseason.
Ahead of tonight's 7 p.m. CT kickoff on WGN and ESPN+, here's how Wicky will deploy his side looking to bring a full three points back to Chicago:
- Wicky has made two changes from the side that drew Nashville on Saturday. Jonathan Bornstein returns to the starting XI to spell Miguel Navarro, while Fabian Herbers replaces Ignacio Alisedain midfield.
- Fresh off of scoring his second goal of the season in Nashville, defender Boris Sekulićwill line up opposite Bornstein tonight.
- Defender Mauricio Pinedagot the assist on Sekulić's goal, and slots into central defense alongside captain Francisco Calvo. Prior to joining the Fire in May of 2019, Calvo made 60 regular appearances for Minnesota from 2017-19.
- Also a former Loon (2017-19), goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth makes his 201st MLS regular season appearance as part of tonight's starting lineup.
- Forward Robert Berić leads the attacking line tonight looking to add to his haul of 10 goals scored so far this season.
- In midfield, Gastón Giménez and Álvaro Medránwill start alongside one another for the second consecutive match.
- Djordje Mihailovićand Przemysław Frankowskiwill patrol the wide areas in midfield this evening. Nearing a Club milestone, tonight marks Frankowski's 49th regular season appearance for the Fire.
- Available to Wicky as substitutions tonight are midfielders Micheal Azira, Ignacio Aliseda, Brian Gutiérrez and Elliot Collier, defenders Johan Kappelhof, Miguel Navarro, Carlos Terán, Wyatt Omsberg, and goalkeeperConnor Sparrow.
- Forward CJ Sapong is unavailable for tonight's match, having been granted an excused absence to be with his newborn daughter.
- GoalkeeperKenneth Kronholm and midfielder Luka Stojanovićare not medically cleared for tonight's match.
Get a look at both team's starting lineups as they're available in the graphics below:
