Columbus Crew SC (5-3-3, 4th in East) vs. Chicago Fire (3-4-2, 7th in East)
No one knows for sure if this will be the last match for the Fire at MAPFRE Stadium given how much is swirling around Crew SC. The Crew are not too distracted about it themselves as they are unbeaten in their last four after losing the previous three, including a 1-0 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday. Gyasi Zardes scored his sixth goal of the year and leads the Crew in story.
“I think the mindset of the group is to just take one game at a time and focus all your energy on performing in training on that day, and then leading up to the weekend that you have a game,” Berhalter said after the game. “That’s our focus, and I know it’s difficult sometimes when losses pile on each other, but you have to be able to separate those and look at what’s in front of you.”
The Fire are coming off a 1-0 win over Montreal at Toyota Park. Kevin Ellis has scored in back-to-back matches (a career first) and Mo Adams did a stellar job in marking Ignacio Piatti. He may have a similar task in marking Federico Higuain or Zardes.
The question is what sort of formation Veljko Paunovic will choose. On Wednesday, it was a diamond midfield that was productive defensively, but not as much offensively until the 89th minute. Getting the ball to Nemanja Nikolic will be crucial as Kevin Ellis cannot be called on to score all the goals. Who partners Nikolic up front will also be an intriguing question.
The Fire have won two of the last three matches against Columbus—both at Toyota Park—after being winless in their previous ten. That includes the tilt last month. The Fire’s last win in Columbus was in 2013. Who know whether it may be the last as this is the Fire’s only trip to MAPFRE Stadium barring Open Cup.
Kickoff for the match is 6:30pm CT on ESPN+ in the United States and Spectrum Sports Ohio.
Referee: Allan Chapman
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Michael Kampmeinert
4th Official: Marco DeOliveira
VAR: Edwin Jurisevic
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Michael Kampmeinert
4th Official: Marco DeOliveira
VAR: Edwin Jurisevic
INJURY REPORT:
COLUMBUS CREW — OUT: GK – Ben Lundgaard (left thumb surgery)
CHICAGO FIRE — OUT: M – Djordje Mihailovic (right ACL surgery), F – Michael de Leeuw (left ACL surgery), D – Matt Polster (MCL sprain), F – Luis Solignac (left quad), M – Jon Bakero (right ankle), GK – Stefan Cleveland (low back pain); QUESTIONABLE: M – Drew Conner (right gastric injury), D – Rafael Ramos (left ankle)
THIS YEAR:
04/07/18: CHI 1-0 CLB
Chicago Fire
Columbus Crew
May, 2024
April, 2024
