MATCH INFO |
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|---|---|
<strong>Matchup</strong> |
Chicago Fire (4-10-5, 17 pts.) vs. New York Red Bulls (9-9-4, 31 pts.) |
<strong>Date</strong> |
Sunday, July 31 • 6 p.m. CT |
<strong>Location</strong> |
Bridgeview, Ill. • Toyota Park |
<strong>TV</strong> |
CSN Chicago (Pregame: 5:30 p.m.) |
<strong>TV (Spanish)</strong> |
CSN Chicago Plus |
<strong>Radio (Spanish)</strong> |
97.5 FM Poder |
<strong>Tickets</strong> |
<strong><a href="http://www.ticketmaster.com/chicago-fire-vs-new-york-red-bridgeview-illinois-07-31-2016/event/0400502CC5BB3803">Buy Now</a></strong> |
With the second half of the 2016 season getting fully underway after this week's brief MLS All-Star break, the Fire welcome Eastern Conference rival New York Red Bulls to Toyota Park Sunday night. Coverage of the match kicks off at 5:30 p.m. CT on CSN Chicago with kickoff set to follow at 6 p.m. The Fire have had good fortune at home during the summer months and will certainly look to keep it going this weekend. Get caught up on Sunday's storylines below:
Close calls
Veljko Paunovic’s men are set to return home on Sunday coming off a narrow loss away at the New England Revolution. The two teams kept things even through 85 minutes – thanks in part to goalkeeper Sean Johnson's career-high-tying 10 saves on the night -- but New England rookie Je-Vaughn Watson broke through late to claim all three points for the Revs. Close games have become a bit of a theme for the Fire in 2016, whose 12 one-goal games are the second-most in the league behind only Sporting KC (13) despite the Fire having played a league-low 19 MLS matches this season. Certainly, the Men In Red are eager to begin securing more points from their down-to-the-wire outcomes.
Running with the Red Bulls
The Red Bulls haven’t had much trouble creating chances and finding the back of the net through the first half of the 2016 season. Through 22 games, their 36 goals scored lead the league, and the 35 total assists they’ve registered is the second-most league-wide (NYCFC, 38). New York’s offense funnels through midfielder Sacha Kljestan, who has been good for a third of the team’s assist total, with a league-leading 12 to his credit. The former U.S. Men’s National Teamer has been in top form entering Sunday’s match as well, with three goals and two assists in the Red Bulls’ last two games. One of the leading beneficiaries of Kljestan's playmaking ability is striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, whose 11 goals this season has him level with Sebastian Giovinco for the third-best total in MLS. In six appearances against the Men In Red, Wright-Phillips has scored five times and notched an assist as well.
New York also has earned a reputation as one of the league's most lethal teams on set pieces. Their 16 set piece goals are by far the most in MLS -- Vancouver ranks second with 10 -- with no shortage of them coming off creative, straight-off-the-training ground play designs that will keep the Fire on their toes.
The early goal factor
Head Coach Jesse Marsch’s side sits second in the Eastern Conference with 31 points through 22 games and boasts a 2-1-2 record in their last five MLS games. While their eight home victories is an Eastern Conference best, New York’s form away from Red Bull Arena has left a bit to be desired. Marsch’s team has played to a 1-7-3 road record, though the lone away win was a memorable one: a 7-0 trouncing of metropolitan rival NYCFC.
Early goals will be a key in this matchup. The Red Bulls are a near-perfect 8-1-3 when scoring first this season, but a polar opposite 1-8-0 when allowing their opponents to get on the board first. Paunovic will certainly be looking for his side to break the ice early Sunday as they try to extend their home winning streak to nine games in all competitions.
Spark in the attack
The month of July hasn't been kind to the Fire from a goal-scoring standpoint in MLS play. The team's three-goal outburst against Fort Lauderdale in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals aside, the Men In Red have scored just three goals in five July league games heading into Sunday's match.
However, with Paunovic having to manage minutes in the wake of a heavy summer slew of matches while also trying to integrate new signing Michael de Leeuw, squad rotation has certainly played a role in the Fire's difficulty in generating a consistent attack. In fact, last Saturday's match at New England was the first time that de Leeuw, John Goossens, and David Accam spent any significant time on the field together outside of a 17-minute second-half stretch during the Fire's 1-0 defeat in Toronto on July 9. Expect the Fire to continue to find ways to make the most of de Leeuw's intelligent runs against a Red Bulls back line that has struggled for large portions of the season.
Head-to-Head
The Fire own the all-time record in the series 26-16-10 dating back to 1998, including a 9-1-4 all-time record over their fellow Eastern Conference side in games played at Toyota Park. New York won in Bridgeview for the first time ever last season, a 2-1 victory in the final match of the regular season.
Sunday night’s match marks the return to Chicago for New York head coach Jesse Marsch, who -- along with Red Bulls assistant and Ring of Fire member Chris Armas -- was an original member of the expansion Fire in 1998. Marsch appeared in 260 competitions wearing a Fire shirt while Armas appeared in 273. Also on the Red Bull bench is Denis Hamlett, who managed the Fire in 2008 and 2009 after his longtime stint as an assistant coach.
