Chicago Fire vs Orlando City: Week 21 Preview

After a disappointing loss in injury time to Inter Miami, the Chicago Fire will remain in Florida for the rest of the week as they’re going up north to play in Orlando this time. There’s a debate on whether or not this game truly matters for the Fire, but it will matter for Orlando City, who are precariously trying to hold onto their playoff spot. Maybe they won’t have a B-Team this time. Or maybe they will. Let’s see who won’t be playing first.

Despite some continued weirdness around Alvaro Medran’s availability, it seems like he’s fine to play now since he made a late appearance at the end of the Miami game. Pretty much everyone else who’s been listed as “out” for the Chicago Fire seems to be at least at “questionable”. Miguel Navarro made a return, although Ignacio Aliseda did not make the bench. As for Orlando City, they have some important players listed as “questionable”. This is Nani, Mauricio Pereyra, and Pedro Gallese. None of them made the bench in their last match, but due to the nature of the word “questionable” I can see them coming back to help run over a team they need three points from. Although, the same can’t be said of Darryl Dike, who hasn’t seen an appearance for Orlando since leaving for the Gold Cup.

Here are three things to consider going into this one.

Consistently Inconsistent

There’s something about the Chicago Fire that somehow pulls in certain players with the most Fire-esque styles of play. While I may talk a lot about how I do not believe that Francisco Calvo makes a good captain or leader for the Fire, I cannot deny that he is the most perfectly symbolic player for the Fire. He is brilliant at times, scoring goals when he shouldn’t and sometimes he is a genuinely great defender. He has such moments that make you remember why he gets paid the way he does. And then he turns around and gives up on plays, blows marking assignments, and generally allows bad things to happen. This is the Chicago Fire.

My point here is that there is no true way to pin down how the Fire will play in a given game. This is both a curse and a blessing. It’s a curse because they give up goals they shouldn’t and lose to teams they should be beating. But that consistent level of inconsistency means that there’s always some weird chance that something stupid happens and the team shows a spark of greatness. Not because they contain any level of greatness, but because it’s the Chicago Fire. Nothing makes sense.

Life With Lugano

Earlier this week, prior to the Inter Miami game, FC Lugano finally announced confirmation that Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto had bought the club. I will have a more in-depth look at this situation later this week, but for now the important thing is that the Fire now have a farm club. Or maybe they’ve become a farm club? It’s a confusing situation as this is the first time a Major League Soccer owner is buying a foreign club rather than the usual other way around (ie. New York City FC, New York Red Bulls).

As a short version, what does this mean for the Fire? Well, what it doesn’t mean is the Fire prepping to sign Demba Ba, who currently plays for Lugano. Instead, according to recent interviews with Mansueto and GM Georg Heitz, it looks like Lugano will essentially be a holding bin for any players that the Fire cannot fit into their roster at the time. A place to stash young international players who the team wants to develop but doesn’t have the slots for. They’ve also expressed a desire to maintain a balance between the two clubs by ensuring that one team’s surplus can off-set another team’s lack.

None of this means anything at this current time, but it will absolutely come into play later in the year as the off-season kicks into gear.

Pack it Up

The best way to prove that you are not the worst team in the league is to beat your contenders for the title of “worst team in the league.” Unfortunately, the Chicago Fire failed to do that, blowing a 2-1 lead against Inter Miami and fumbling what was probably their best chance at breaking their road win-less streak. At this point, the season just seems like it’s over. So what should the Fire do as they clean up everything?

First off, they need to start playing the older guys less and start giving chances to the younger players. Don’t throw them in at the deep end, sending out homegrown players against teams that are still very much in the thick of a playoff race. Instead, just find more time for them to be on the pitch. Guys like Brian Gutierrez and Alex Monis have the potential to be solid players for this club and Gutierrez has even shown it at times. But the only way for players to get experience is for them to get experience. So if the rest of the season doesn’t matter, which I’m sure the Fire’s coaches would disagree with me on, then we need to see more homegrowns and more U-23 players out on the pitch.

Projected XI

Chicago Fire (5-2-2-1): Bobby Shuttleworth; Francisco Calvo, Jonathan Bornstein, Mauricio Pineda, Carlos Teran, Boris Sekulic; Alvaro Medran, Gaston Gimenez; Luka Stojanovic, Stanislav Ivanov; Chinonso Offor

Orlando City (4-2-3-1): Mason Stajduhar; Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, Ruan; Andres Perea, Junior Urso; Nani, Mauricio Pereyra, Chris Mueller; Tesho Akindele

How To Watch

Saturday, August 21st, 6:30PM CDT; At Exploria Stadium in Orlando, FL, broadcasting on WGN and online through the Chicago Fire website