We’ve got midweek MLS action to end the month of August as the Chicago Fire hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps at Soldier Field.
Chicago’s had a woeful return to play following the Leagues Cup, losing both games while conceding three goals in each of them. Neither result was too disastrous, to be fair, but failing to pick up any points has put some real pressure on this contest. They’re in the final playoff spot at the moment, and they’re desperate to stay there.
I was going to make a joke about how Vancouver is simply existing like always, but they’re actually doing pretty well. They just beat Cascadia rivals the Portland Timbers 3-2, which put them in 7th place in the Western Conference standings. It’s an absolute monkey knife fight in the West, and they can use all the points they can get, especially since this is their first of six games on the road in a row.
Any matchup between these two sides would be more than enough vibes, but to have this game on a Wednesday night could lead to some magic.
Team news
Chicago will be without Gastón Giménez, who was sent off last time out, while Chris Mueller and Javier Casas Jr are both injured.
It’s a similar story for Vancouver, as Luís Martins and Thomas Hasal are hurt and will be unavailable as a result.
Predicted lineups
Vancouver Whitecaps: Takaoka, Brown, Veselinovic, Blackmon, Laryea, Schöpf, Cubas, Ahmed, Adekugbe, Gauld, White
Chicago Fire: Brady, Dean, Czichos, Terán, M. Navarro, F. Navarro, Doumbia, Haile-Selassie, Shaqiri, Gutiérrez, Kamara
What to watch for
Who want it?
It’ll be interesting to see how both sides approach this match. They both kind of need the win, but they’ll also want to make sure they don’t lose.
Chicago will be the ones at home, so the emphasis is on them by default. They’ve got a bit of a road trip ahead of them following this contest as well, so picking up all three points here while they can might be critical.
It’d also be important to help calm the nerves of supporters. Fans were flying high during the team’s previous good run of form, but two straight losses has got them nervous again. Are the Fire going to mess this all up like they always do? It’s not at that point yet, but failing to win this game might drive the fanbase even closer to panic.
Vancouver, meanwhile, isn’t going home for a long time. As mentioned earlier they’ve got six consecutive games on the road, and they’ve not been too good on their travels. Maybe this will be their best chance to steal a result given Chicago’s inconsistencies at Soldier Field. Will they be happy with a tie, or will they want more late on?
Only time will tell.
Shaq attack
Big time players make big time plays, and now would be a good time for Xherdan Shaqiri to make a big time play.
He’s been pretty good this season, even if he only has three goals and three assists to his name in MLS play, with another two of each in all competitions. The DP’s recent showings have been especially impressive, grabbing two goals in the Leagues Cup and scoring a screamer against CF Montréal.
Shaqiri still has another gear he can kick into, though. Fire fans haven’t seen it from him, but there’s a reason why he played for the likes of Liverpool, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich. He’s just so talented.
Maybe we’ll see the absolute best of him on Wednesday.
The boyhood dream
On a personal note I’m just excited to see Ryan Gauld out there.
I signed him in a career mode on FIFA about a decade ago at this stage, and I absolutely fell in love with the virtual version of him. He was small, but he was so agile on the ball.
If he’s as good on Wednesday night as he was for me in FIFA, then Chicago will be in trouble.
Still chasing
Kei Kamara has gone a little quiet.
After a quality start to the year, he’s gone two months without finding the back of the net. The timing of that drought isn’t ideal for him, as he’s just one goal away from tying Landon Donovan for 2nd place on the all-time MLS goalscorers list.
No one’s really worried, as it might simply be a matter of time until Kamara grabs that historic goal. However, Chicago does need some help going forward, and if anyone’s going to score for them, it’s probably going to be him.
A nice towering header on Wednesday night would be just what the doctor ordered.
Previous meetings
These two sides faced off once last season, with that match taking place in Vancouver. Chicago took an early lead, but it seemed like the Whitecaps were going to be fine when they equalized a bit after the halftime break.
However, the Fire actually retook the lead with 15 minutes to go through centerback Rafael Czichos, and they secured the surprising victory with a third goal in stoppage time.
The last meeting in Chicago was back in April of 2019. Yordy Reyna gave the away side the lead after a ludicrous goalkeeping error from David Ousted, but Nemanja Nikolić saved a point for the hosts thanks to a late penalty.
Between those two contests was a meeting in the MLS Is Back tournament during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a battle at the bottom of the group, and two goals in the span of six minutes proved to be enough for Vancouver to pick up the victory and vault ahead of Chicago in the standings.
How to watch
The match kicks off at 7:30 pm central time, and it will air live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.