Vancouver Whitecaps (7-9-5, 10th place) vs. Chicago Fire FC (6-10-5, 12th in East)
A battle between the third largest cities in their respective countries takes place Saturday at BC Place. Both teams are looking to move closer to the playoff line in their respective conferences. The Fire are coming off back-to-back wins over Toronto and Seattle to move back into contention for the playoffs.
However, translating their current form onto the road will be a challenge. They come to a section of the continent where they have never won in Cascadia (four draws, 13 losses). In fact, the Fire currently have a 0% record in Vancouver in four matches. This is also the first competitive meeting since the Whitecaps eliminated the Fire at the MLS-Is-Back Tournament in 2020 despite the Whitecaps having a skeletal squad and needing to win the match by two goals to advance (which they did).
Jhon Duran is off the injured list, but Gaston Gimenez remains on it with a right thigh problem and Jairo Torres is a question mark in health and safety protocols, and Kacper Przybylko has an excused absence. Jhon Espinoza and Stanislav Ivanov are also unavailable for the trip.
While the Fire have their players missing, the Whitecaps make look into player rotation with the Canadian Championship final at BC Place on Tuesday against Toronto FC for a spot in the 2023 Concacaf Champions League. The Caps are 5-2-3 at home, but their last match there was a 3-1 loss to Minnesota United. One thing that may be going for the Caps is that this is their “Pride Match” and that they have gone 7-0-1 in these matches going back to 2013.
Given their position in the table with 13 matches to go, the Fire need to get wins on the road to enhance their playoff chances. With Duran back in the lineup, that should help. However, what won’t help down the line is if he, Fabian Herbers, or Federico Navarro pick up a yellow card that will suspend them for the following match at home against Atlanta. If the Fire stick to commitment, courage, and consistency as Ezra Hendrickson preached after the win against Seattle, the Fire will get their second away win of the season.
Kickoff is at 9pm CT on WGN-TV.
INJURIES:
CHICAGO FIRE FC: QUESTIONABLE: Jairo Torres (health & safety protocols); OUT: Jhon Espinoza (right knee), Gastón Giménez (right thigh), Stanislav Ivanov (right thigh), Wyatt Omsberg (left foot), Kacper Przybyłko (excused absence)
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS: OUT: Sebastian Berhalter (right foot, stress fracture), Erik Godoy (left calf strain) Cristian Gutierrez (left calf strain), Luis Martins (left calf strain), Deiber Caicedo (right knee, meniscus surgery)
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW:
VAN: Lucas Cavallini
CHI: Jhon Duran, Fabian Herbers, Federico Navarro
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Chantal Boudreau, Jeffrey Swartzel
4th Official: Alain Ruch
VAR: Alejandro Mariscal
IN OTHER NEWS: Due to Bears home games, two Fire games will be played at SeatGeek Stadium this Fall. The September 10th match against Inter Miami (7pm) and the October 9th match vs. New England (1:30pm) will be played at SeatGeek Stadium. The lease with Soldier Field precludes the Fire from playing home games five days prior to a scheduled Bears home game. Additionally, the Fire’s August 28th match against CF Montreal has been moved up one day to Saturday, August 27th at 7pm.
