Enemy Scouting Report - Chicago Fire
(image via Chicago Fire FC)
The Houston Dynamo had a rough week on the road last week, to put it nicely, losing 6-2 at Vancouver and 3-0 at St. Louis. Now the team travels to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Fire in the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Will Ben Olsen’s squad be able to break the away losing streak against MLS competition?
Chicago currently sits in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with 17 points. Frank Klopas, a Chicago Fire legend, took over as the head coach when Ezra Hendrickson was fired about a month ago. Klopas’ first match in charge was against St. Louis CITY during the US Open Cup, in which Chicago won the game 2-1. Chicago have struggled all regular season to find their identity but in the short tournament they have been on fire. They have won the US Open Cup a total of four times in their history and with Frank Klopas at the helm, it seems that desire for a fifth win is at an all-time high.
While Chicago Fire have some very talented players, they have just not been able to put a good product together yet. The man to watch is number 10, Xherdan Shaqiri. The Swiss international hasn’t had the most glamorous and successful stay in MLS as he would have hoped for, but at least he is the highest paid player in the league, making over $8 million in guaranteed compensation in 2023. Shaqiri is a very talented player who no doubt will give Houston a headache tonight. Striker Kacper Przybylko is no stranger to the league nor to scoring goals. The German born forward has scored five goals in all competitions for the club this season. Another player to keep an eye on is the eternal, Kei Kamara. The man from Sierra Leone is playing with his tenth team in Major League Soccer and at the ripe age of 38, Kamara continues to find the back of the net. Lastly, veteran defender Rafael Czichos brings leadership that boosts the players around him. He defends hard and he attacks the ball in the air very well. His goal against Austin in the Round of 16 shifted the tide for the Fire to come out victorious that match.
Chicago Fire FC Season Record: 3W-5L-8D
Results in the last 30 days:
May 6 – Nashville 3-0 Chicago Fire
May 9 - Chicago Fire 2-1 St. Louis CITY SC (US Open Cup)
May 13 – Chicago Fire 1-0 St. Louis CITY SC
May 17 - Charlotte FC 2-1 Chicago Fire
May 20 - Chicago Fire 3-3 Atlanta United
May 24 - Austin FC 0-2 Chicago Fire (US Open Cup)
May 27 - New England Revolution 3-3 Chicago Fire
May 31 - Toronto FC 0-0 Chicago Fire
June 3 - FC Cincinnati 1-0 Chicago Fire
Past Match Staring XI (from mlssoccer.com)
There will likely be some variation but look to see many of the players in the graphic starting.
2023 Active Roster
Goalkeepers: Spencer Richey, Jeff Gal, Chris Brady
Defenders: Arnaud Souquet, Alonso Aceves, Carlos Teran, Rafael Czichos, Miguel Navarro, Wyatt Omsberg, Mauricio Pineda, Jonathan Dean, Kendall Burks, Justin Reynolds
Midfielders: Maren Haile-Selassie, Xherdan Shaqiri, Brian Gutierrez, Fabian Herbers, Gaston Gimenez, Federico Navarro, Sergio Oregel, Javier Casas, Alex Monis, Allan Rodriguez
Forwards: Chris Mueller, Kacper Przybylko, Georgios Koutsias, Jairo Torres, Kei Kamara, Missael Rodriguez, Victor Bezerra
Can the Dynamo get a win at SeatGeek Stadium and advance into the USOC semifinals?
