Match Preview | Chicago Fire Host Philadelphia Union Saturday

With one month of the MLS season already in the books, the Chicago Fire (0-1-2, 2 points) on Saturday begin a key early-season stretch against the visiting Philadelphia Union (2-1-0, 6 points). The match is the first of four against Eastern Conference foes in the month of April for the Men In Red, with three coming on their home turf in Bridgeview.

Pregame coverage from Toyota Park begins on CSN Chicago at 3:30 p.m. CT followed by kickoff at 4 p.m. Fans can also tune into a Spanish-language simulcast of the match on CSN Chicago Plus. 

While names and faces have changed, there are few MLS clubs with which Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic is more familiar than Philadelphia, where Paunovic played 17 games in the 2011 season as his playing career wound down. The same can be said of Union boss Jim Curtin, who enjoyed a lengthy playing stint (2001-07) for the Chicago Fire. Curtin raised three trophies in his time with the Fire and eventually retired ceremoniously as a member of the club in 2014.

But both coaches are less concerned with their personal histories and more so with how their clubs will build off their recent performances, particularly a Union side that recently picked up back-to-back wins over Eastern Conference opponents. On March 12, the Union notched the club's first-ever win in Columbus when offseason acquisition Chris Pontius' brace lifted Philadelphia to a 2-1 win over Crew SC, and one week later the Union ran away with a 3-0 win over New England in the Philadelphia home-opener. Veteran striker CJ Sapong netted a first-half brace for the 30th and 31st goals of his MLS career, and the Union won comfortably despite seeing a pair of penalty kick attempts saved by New England's Bobby Shuttleworth.

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"Philadelphia is a team who's performed very well, they've started very well," Paunovic said. "We played them in the preseason but it was a very different game from the game that we will have on Saturday. We want to win, we respect our opponent and we want to have the game that we all are waiting for, playing good soccer and winning the game."

The preseason meeting in Tampa ended in a 4-2 Fire win and was highlighted by a David Accam brace, but Accam will be unable to factor into Saturday's match having been ruled out for a second straight match while managing the lingering effects of a knee sprain. Nevertheless, Paunovic will be counting on his side to maintain the defensive form it displayed in a clean sheet vs. Columbus -- minimizing service from the flanks and forcing chances outside the area -- while putting into practice the possession tactics emphasized over the last two weeks. 

"We've been trying to focus a little bit on what we did in preseason," said midfielder Michael Stephens, "keeping the ball, being a little bit more dangerous in the attack while still maintaining possession."

While the Fire are unbeaten in the last six meetings with Philadelphia, history has seen these two clubs play to a virtual draw, evenly splitting 15 all-time regular season meetings to the tune of matching 5-5-5 records and 19 goals scored for each side. A draw is also how their most recent meeting ended, albeit a thrilling one on Aug. 16, 2015 in Philadelphia. Chicago's Kennedy Igboananike slammed in his second goal of the game in the 92nd minute, capping a wild sequence that twice saw the Fire save the ball from going out of play. 

Philadelphia's last win in the series came on May 18, 2013 in Chester, Pa., and there's no doubt that Jim Curtin is eyeing Saturday as a chance to earn his first coaching win against his former club.

"The coach there is one we're familiar with here at the Union," Curtin said of Veljko Paunovic, "a guy I respected a great deal as a player and now as a coach. He's done a great job restructuring the roster. It's one I'm a little sensitive to because I played there so long. I pull for Nelson (Rodríguez) and Pauno except when we play them. They're a very good passing team, in preseason they beat us pretty good, they're dangerous, well-coached and well-organized. It's going to be a tough task to go on the road and get three points."

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (15 meetings): Fire 5 wins, 19 goals … Union 5 wins, 19 goals … Ties 5
AT CHICAGO (8 meetings): Fire 3 wins, 9 goals … Union 2 wins, 9 goals … Ties 3
RETURN MATCHES: 6/22: Philadelphia Union vs. Chicago Fire, 6 p.m. CT; 9/3: Chicago Fire vs. Philadelphia Union, 6:30 p.m. CT

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