For the first time in 2020, Chicago Fire FC are going to play a fourth consecutive game sans interruption.
It might seem like a minor milestone. It might not seem like a milestone at all.
Hear me out though. Football is all about stringing results together, and - given the herky-jerky nature of the schedule in 2020 - it has been extremely difficult to do that.
Wednesday night marks the longest streak of consecutive games for the Fire this season as they travel to “The Queen City” to take on FC Cincinnati for the second time in eight days. They’ll have an opportunity to bounce back after a disappointing 3-1 loss to NYCFC on Saturday.
NO SURPRISES
If you’re familiar with the adage “It’s tough to beat a team twice,” well, beating a team twice in eight days is even tougher.
There will be no surprises on either end. The Fire will not be taken aback by Cincinnati’s deep block, and Jaap Stam’s group will know that CFFC are capable of playing a three- or four-back system and can hit you in a multitude of ways.
This game will come down to the intangibles and the details more than anything. Set pieces, 50/50 challenges, mistakes, etc.
FCC’s most recent affair was a scoreless draw against Columbus on Saturday night. Cincinnati had some very good chances, but almost all of them came from set pieces. This will be a huge point of interest for Fire head coach Raphael Wicky and his staff in the days leading up to this fixture. The delivery from Siem De Jong, Frankie Amaya and Co. is on point, while players like Kendall Waston, Tom Petterson, and Jurgen Locadia all offer big, imposing targets.
MEDUNJANIN IN THE MIX
35-year-old midfielder Haris Medunjanin had been absent from the team after the birth of his child, but came on during Cincinnati’s 0-0 draw against Columbus on Saturday to play the final 18 minutes.
If the Bosnia and Herzegovina international is to play, it gives this Cincy side a lot more balance in the middle of the field, and allows for guys like Amaya and de Jong to really go out and do their thing.
Medunjanin offers a calming presence on the ball and is very much a rhythm supplier. He showed us that during his three years in Philadelphia. He sits right in front of the back three (or five) for Jaap Stam and plays a disrupter role defensively much like Chicago’s Gastón Giménez. He was not available last Tuesday in the Fire’s return to Soldier Field, and it showed in FCC’s inability to take Chicago off the ball or really get a foot on the ball themselves.
The No. 6 for the orange and blue had not played since their loss in penalties against eventual champions the Portland Timbers during the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando. I imagine he is still working his way back to full fitness, but if he is to start or play the second half, then the middle of the field will be a much more imposing fight than last week.
CONTINUE TO MIX IT UP
The most encouraging thing we saw from the Fire last week in their 3-0 win against FCC was the three very different ways in which they scored.
A direct ball over the top to Fabian Herbers in the second minute, a banger from Álvaro Medrán in the 10th, capped off by one of the best team goals you’ll see finished by Ignacio Aliseda in the second half.
Displaying a diverse portfolio of goals makes you unpredictable, thus more difficult to prepare for. This comes in handy when you’re playing a team for the second time in eight days.
The only thing we didn’t see from the Fire that really would have put things over the top was a goal from Robert Berić. He is a proven goal scorer at one of the highest levels the sport has to offer, and he needs to see the ball go in the back of net. He nearly had an equalizer on Saturday night against NYCFC, but former Fire ‘keeper Sean Johnson made a big kick-save at the near post.
Berić getting on the score sheet and being more involved in the build-up will add yet another dimension to the Fire attack. He’ll have the difficult task of going toe-to-toe with Costa Rican central defender Kendall Waston. Those two were dogging it out for about 80 minutes last time out, and that battle will yield some great entertainment once again.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Following Wednesday night, the Fire will have two games at Soldier against a stingy New England Revolution side and a Columbus Crew SC group to whom they owe one.
There is form and momentum to be gathered in Cincy.
It will be a difficult, grind-it-out type of result if they are able to produce one. The artificial surface paired with revenge factor on Cincy’s side will almost guarantee a different type of fixture than last week.
I expect this game to be played in the middle third of the field with FCC in their usual deep block but much more sound in possession at home, especially if Medunjanin plays anything more than 20 minutes.
Raphael Wicky has spoken time and time again about rhythm and playing consecutive games. This is now their third in eight days, and they’ll have their work cut out for them.
