Fresh off of the club's first three points of 2018, anticipation is mounting for the Chicago Fire's Saturday visit from the LA Galaxy, airing live on Univision and streaming on Twitter. A packed house is expected at Toyota Park, as the Galaxy enter the weekend a squad rejuvenated from last season's last place finish in the Western Conference.
Here's where the matchup stands currently as the countdown to Saturday continues:
Big Debuts
The 2018 edition of the annual Fire-Galaxy fixture is headlined by a clash of two superstars in global football and former teammates at Manchester United: Chicago’s Bastian Schweinsteiger and LA’s recently acquired Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is likely to feature in his first MLS match outside the Los Angeles market.
As Schweinsteiger did with the Fire one year ago, Ibrahimovic delivered a moment of magic early in his MLS debut, scoring a 45-yard equalizer against LAFC on March 31. Only minutes later, the Swedish international headed home a stoppage-time winner as LA Galaxy completed a comeback from 3-0 down to defeat their new rivals, 4-3.
“Very happy for him that he came over to Los Angeles to the MLS," Schweinsteiger said ahead of Saturday. "It’s a great signing for the league. I’m happy for everyone and glad to see him.”
“He’s always very hard to defend. I’ve known him since a long time ago. I remember games when he was playing for Juventus in the Olympic Stadium in Munich. He’s very difficult to play. Obviously one of the best strikers in the world. He’s still very important for every team. You can already see that in the games.”
Last Time Out
Comebacks also were part of the story the last time the Fire and Galaxy squared off, a match that ended in a 2-2 draw at StubHub Center on May 6, 2017. Nemanja Nikolic earned a PK and scored a goal of his own to provide the Fire a 2-0 halftime advantage.
LA countered with goals after the break by Daniel Steres and Giovani dos Santos to send both teams home with a point. It was the third time in the last four meetings that the two teams played to a draw, with Chicago’s most recent victory in the series coming on the road back on August 1, 2010.
WLDWL
Sigi Schmid’s side was unable to follow up their win in the LA derby with a result last Sunday against Sporting KC, falling by a 2-0 scoreline. In addition to Ibrahimovic, several other notable offseason newcomers are looking to provide a boost after the club’s last-place finish in 2017, with the likes of forward Ola Kamara and goalkeeper David Bingham joining key returners in Romain Alessandrini and brothers Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos. As it stands, the Galaxy sit in third place in the Western Conference, with a record of 2-2-1 and seven points to their name this season.
A Look Ahead
Seating for Saturday's match is officially sold out, with a capacity-sized crowd expected to be on-hand for the 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff. Don't miss out on your next opportunity to see the Men In Red in action when Atlanta United visit Toyota Park on Saturday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. CT!
