Atlanta United FC (10-3-3, 1st in East) vs. Chicago Fire (5-7-4, 7th in East)
The Chicago Fire take on Atlanta United in a Fifth Round matchup in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. The Fire have played in Atlanta once before in this competition against the then-NASL Silverbacks, 3-1, in a match that saw Mike Magee sent off for a 31st minute altercation and then-coach Eric Wynalda, his assistant, and three players suspended for the match for an incident in the previous round against Colorado Rapids.
In the previous round, the Fire survived 11 rounds of penalties to defeat Columbus Crew at MAPFRE Stadium. Atlanta United got by Charleston Battery of USL, 3-0.
Atlanta brings the best record in Major League Soccer and what will likely be immense fan support as the match is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“We’re excited to host our first Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium,” club president Darren Eales said in a statement. “Over the last year, our amazing fans have helped us set nearly every attendance record in North America and we’re looking forward to setting another one [on Wednesday].”
Josef Martinez leads MLS with 14 goals.
Meanwhile, Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic looks for an attitude adjustment from his players after a 2-2 draw against lowly-Colorado where the Fire were down 2-0 inside of 15 minutes.
“It’s disappointing,” Veljko Paunovic said. “It’s disappointing for many reasons. This is not the image that we want and we have to make changes. We have to make changes technically, with our attitude, and with our behavior on the road, especially early in the game.”
The winner of this match will face the winner of the Louisville City FC-Nashville SC match in the quarterfinals. Kickoff of the match is at 6pm CT and will be streamed online on each club’s respective website.
