New York Red Bulls (7-6-3, 5th in East) vs. Chicago Fire (4-6-7, 8th in East)
Once again, the chance is there for the Chicago Fire to be closer to the red line. They failed to go over the red line in last Saturday in a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake. It just seems like they need to get out of their own way to make progress. Now, they need to make some progress on the road where they have been winless so far in 2019 and winless in their last five in league play. At least their last visit to Red Bull Arena resulted in a win last year.
The Red Bulls are dealing with squandering a chance of their own as the dropped a late lead and lost in the US Open Cup Fourth Round tie against New England. The good news for them is that Bradley Wright-Phillips could return to action as he is now upgraded to probable after a groin injury.
On the other hand, both teams will still be missing their Gold Cup players as their respective teams remain in through this weekend.
For both teams, this is the start of the second half of the season. For the Red Bulls, it is a chance to rebound and stay closer to the top than the red line which they are currently five points clear of. For the Fire, it is a chance to reset and finally play to their potential and move level on points with Toronto for seventh. It’s also a chance to finally win on the road.
The margin for error for the Fire is almost non-existent and exhibit A was last week when Mo Adams’s handball (with no RSL player around) led to an equalizer and they could not find a match winner. Given the talent they have, it’s time for those outside the local media circle to start questioning the club, especially if they continue to stumble. The local media circle have been questioning this club for a while.
Kickoff is at 7pm CT on UniMas+.
INJURIES:
NEW YORK RED BULLS:
OUT: Florian Valot (M) – torn ACL
PROBABLE: Bradley Wright-Phillips (F) – groin injury
PROBABLE: Vincent Bezecourt (M) – knee injury
CHICAGO FIRE:
QUESTIONABLE: Johan Kappelhof (D) – thigh injury
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW:
CHI: Francisco Calvo, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mo Adams
INTERNATIONAL DUTY:
RBNY: Aaron Long (USA), Michael Murillo (PAN), Kemar Lawrence (JAM), Derrick Etienne (HAI)
CHI: Djordje Mihailovic (USA), Francisco Calvo (CRC)
Referee: Ted Unkel
Assistant Referees: Brian Dunn, Jeffrey Greeson
4th Official: Marcos DeOliveira
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
THIS YEAR:
3/30/19: CHI 1-0 RBNY
