Alex Katai scored an absolute banger against Philadelphia last year in Chicago and is the Fire’s primary long-range shooter.
He’s also suspended Saturday after picking up a red card for throwing ‘bows against Portland Timbers Wednesday night.
Katai’s first half sending off was only one part of an evening that death a major blow to Chicago’s playoff hopes. With only seven rounds left and the three teams just ahead of them holding games in hand, Veljko Paunovic’s team is staring elimination in the face.
But there’s also reason for hope: Two of the Fire’s remaining away matches are at Columbus and Cincinnati, the only two teams in the Eastern Conference below them in the standings. That provides an opportunity — but can Chicago grasp it?
To do so, they’ll need Nico Gaitan to guide the front four past Philly this Saturday. The languid Argentine playmaker is classy on the ball but during his time in MLS he has shown a tendency to switch off when out of possession. That has led to Dax McCarty and Brandt Bronico sitting in front of the back four to control the center of the pitch, and this provides a solid spine but forces the Fire to play with only four in attack.
Those four can produce though. When Gaitan is on, he opens the field both vertically and horizontally, pushing the opposing back line deep and creating tons of space for Nemanja Nikolic to attack in the box. The Fire have scored five goals in the past two games (only one of those with Gaitan) but struggle to maintain their shape enough to put teams away and earn all three points.
Defensively, there are also some positives in the Windy City. Jonathan Bornstein’s arrival has allowed Paunovic to go to a flat back four that turns them from a wing-attack side to a team that can focus more on the center. It also pushes everyone in the back line over a bit — Francisco Calvo has become a center back and Johan Kappelhof has made the move out to right back. On the plus side, this has been a better defense than the Fire could put on the pitch a few weeks ago. But this move has also exposed an ongoing issue for Paunovic: The Fire don’t have many real fullbacks, and that is one of the most important positions to develop in modern soccer.
The Union will look to jump on Chicago early even though they are on the road. Forcing the home side to play from behind will be crucial to taking them away from their gameplan, which will likely be to patiently spread the Union wide and then attack with overloads on the flanks. If the Union make the Fire become more direct, they will expose a team that doesn’t retain their shape will after their legs get tired. Look for big games from Jamiro Monteiro and Kacper Przybylko as Philly seeks to put space between themselves, Atlanta United, and NYCFC.
The Union head to Chicago on Saturday, August 17 at 8:00 p.m. ET on PHL17.
