Coming out of a Wednesday night scoring explosion at SeatGeek Stadium, the Chicago Fire are set to welcome Minnesota United FC to the Windy City on Saturday night.
In what will be just the third-ever meeting between these two clubs, kickoff coverage comes to you on ESPN+ and Univision Radio 93.5 Latino Mix. Get poised for a prime time matchup with the #CHIvMIN Match Storylines powered by NovaCare:
Form Guide
Minnesota United (4-3-3, 15 points) enter Saturday’s match unbeaten in five of the club’s last six outings. Last week the Loons hosted Seattle Sounders FC at home, and saw newcomer Ike Opara’s 26th minute header negated by a wonder strike from Seattle’s Cristian Roldan just before halftime. The 1-1 draw pushed Minnesota to 15 points through 10 matches played, good for sixth place in the Western Conference standings as they stand.
The Fire (3-4-4, 13 points) are riding some midweek momentum from a 5-0 affair against the New England Revolution at SeatGeek Stadium on Wednesday. Nemanja Nikolić paved the way with a first half brace, before Brandt Bronico, Nicolás Gaitán, and Przemysław Frankowski each tallied in the second half. The Fire have collected 13 points through 11 matches played, and are currently in eighth place in the East.
Familiar Foe
Acquired on May 3 from Minnesota United, Fire defender Francisco Calvo will get an immediate chance to square off against his old team come kickoff Saturday night. Calvo got his first Fire start in Wednesday’s 5-0 win over New England after debuting as a second half substitution in last Saturday’s 0-0 draw at LAFC.
Prior to the trade, Calvo had captained Minnesota in each of the club’s first three seasons in MLS, and appeared 60 times since his signing ahead of their 2017 campaign. While in Minnesota, Calvo played his way into an MLS All-Star selection (2018) and was also named to the Concacaf Best XI (2018).
A Goal Haul at Home
The Fire’s 5-0 victory over New England on Wednesday became the 11th time in Club history that the side managed to score five or more goals in a single game. In their prior home date, the Men In Red put four goals past goalkeeper Tim Howard in a 4-1 victory against the Colorado Rapids on April 20. The Fire are 3-1-2 in matches played at SeatGeek Stadium this season with a +8 goal differential.
Fresh off of Wednesday night’s brace, Nikolić leads the way in goals scored for the Fire with five so far in 2019, followed closely by CJ Sapong with four.
#CHIvMIN All-Time
Saturday’s match against Minnesota United will be the third all-time between both clubs. Heading into the match, the Fire will be searching for its first league win against the Loons. Midfielder Darwin Quintero leads the team with five goals scored.
