Riding a two-match unbeaten streak, the Chicago Fire return home this Friday night for a visit from the Vancouver Whitecaps at SeatGeek Stadium.
The evening kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, with coverage on ESPN+ and Univision Radio 93.5 Latino Mix. Get prepared for Friday night under the lights with this week’s Match Storylines powered by NovaCare:
Form Guide
The Whitecaps (0-4-1, 1 point) enter the weekend still seeking their first win of 2019 coming out of a 2-0 home defeat to the LA Galaxy last weekend. New head coach Marc dos Santos and his men sit in the 11th position in the Western Conference as it stands, level with the Portland Timbers on one point but ahead on goal differential (-5).
The Fire approach Friday night’s contest with their stock having raised in the East after a pair of matches unbeaten. Following last Saturday’s 2-2 draw on the road at Toronto FC, the Fire (1-2-2, five points) are in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, one spot from being above the playoff line in the early season standings.
New Faces
It was an offseason of change in Vancouver, as the Whitecaps parted ways with former head coach Carl Robinson and brought in the aforementioned Dos Santos. Dos Santos had been an assistant at LAFC under Bob Bradley and previously racked up accolades across the USL and NASL in stints at Swope Park Rangers and Ottawa Fury FC.
A pair of new Designated Players additionally made their way to Vancouver in the offseason. 20-year-old Uruguayan striker Joaqúin Ardaiz arrived on a season-long loan from Swiss club FC Chiasso, as did emerging South Korean star Hwang In-Beom from hometown club Daejeon Citizen. Both have appeared in all five matches for the Whitecaps so far this season. In addition, Iraq international defender Ali Adnan was acquired in early March on loan from Serie A side Udinese and has appeared twice for Vancouver.
The Fire have been boosted by a few new faces of their own, including 2019 addition CJ Sapong. Sapong leads the Club’s in scoring with three goals in five games, and has created a team-best eight scoring chances (via Opta) so far this season. Also among those new Fire faces...
We Meet Again
Fire goalkeeper David Ousted is set to square off with the side the brought him to MLS when these two sides kickoff on Friday night. Originally acquired by the Whitecaps in June of 2013, Ousted would go on to become the club’s second all-time appearances leader (145) over four years in Vancouver, and earn a pair of MLS All-Star nods in 2015 and 2016. He still holds the club records for saves (441) and clean sheets (43).
"It’s always fun to see old friends and compare up against them," Ousted said. "The most important thing, for me, is three points for us. We need to get on a roll and get those points here at home. I’m looking forward to playing them, but it’s all business on Friday."
Ousted has faced his former club on one other occasion, a 3-1 win during his season at D.C. United on July 14, 2018, coincidentally the opening match of D.C.’s Audi Field as well as Wayne Rooney’s MLS debut. So far he's started all five matches for the Fire in net in 2019.
#CHIvVAN All-Time
Friday’s match will mark the 10th meeting between the Fire and Whitecaps FC in regular season action since the Cascadia side’s expansion season in 2011. During that stretch, the Fire have posted a 2-1-2 home record against Vancouver, scoring five goals and conceding just one. In the Men in Red’s last home match against Vancouver, the team put up a 4-0 clean-sheet win on July 1, 2017.
Forward Nemanja Nikolić leads all Fire players with goals scored (three) against Whitecaps FC.
