Chicago Fire’s Luis Solignac dribbles around San Jose Earthquakes Defender Nick Lima in a game on September 27th, 2017 at Avaya Stadium. Photo by Lyndsay Radnedge.
The Chicago Fire entered this double game week with an opportunity to generate some points against fellow struggling sides and turn around a season that to date has been nothing less or more than mediocre. But the week didn’t get off to the best of starts after a Wednesday Night showdown in Philadelphia that saw the Union outclass Chicago in the second half en route to a 3-1 victory, leaving the Fire beleaguered with Philadelphia’s catchy “DOOP DUP DOOP DAH DAH DOOP DOOP DOOP” running through their heads.
“We just have to take this game, learn from the mistakes we made, and look forward to a home game. We’ll analyze it, see what we did wrong and be better for it.” said Fire Defender Brandon Vincent after the match.
Fortunately for the Fire, the opportunity to get that song out of their head without singing it loudly and obnoxiously at the top of their lungs (But then, how else would you sing that song?) comes as soon as this Saturday, when the struggling San Jose Earthquakes come to Toyota Park with similar designs on momentum turning three points.
The Earthquakes come in with the benefit of a full week to recover and get past an emotional Cali Clasico loss to rival LA Galaxy, in the Quakes matched the intensity of the rivalry match, but were unable to find anything in the final third of the field before conceding a goal late to fall on the road.
The Cali Clasico match also featured a return to the 4-4-2 formation Coach Mikael Stahre began the season with and a return to the starting lineup for Chris Wondolowski. With the World Cup approaching, *long pause, deep breath, stop side-eyeing me, count to 10….resume* the Quakes will have to juggle the lineup once again as Panamanians Anibal Godoy and Harold Cummings have officially been named to their country’s final roster and are in route to Russia, leaving holes for Coach Stahre to fill. Conventional wisdom says to expect that Flo Jungwith will move back to center back, where he spent most of last season, pairing with Jimmy Ockford. Having the Bundesliga veteran paired next to Ockford should prove valuable as Ockford looks to be a key part of this Quakes squad moving forward. The midfield spot Jungwirth leaves in front of him could possibly go to Fatai Alashe, who has played sparingly so far this season, but could seize the moment if he finds his way on to the pitch.
Nemanja Nikolic fires a shot on goal in a game against the San Jose Earthquakes on September 27th, 2017 at Avaya Stadium. Photo by Lyndsay Radnedge.
The Fire went into Wednesday’s match without Nemanja Nikolic, who missed the first game of his MLS career with an injury. There has been no word on his status for Saturday, but regaining the form that made him last year’s Golden Boot winner would be a big boost for the Fire, as he, like the team, have struggled to find a way to replicate their success of 2017.
The two teams met late in the season last year at Avaya Stadium in a game that the Fire celebrated clinching their return to the playoffs after a four year absence, after thrashing the Quakes 4-1 in a game that could have been a lot worse and dealt a severe blow to San Jose’s own playoff aspirations. With this year’s Fire playing with the form that led them to two consecutive Wooden Spoons, this game presents itself well for the Quakes as an opportunity to steal some road points if Coach Stahre can find the right combination with the resources he as available.
Chicago Fire
San Jose Earthquakes
