Hello, Old Friend: Chicago Fire vs Columbus Match 14 Preview

With little time to lick their wounds, the Fire are back in action in Soldier Field on Saturday, facing a classic foe in the Columbus Crew to conclude MLS’s Rivalry Week.

The Fire are still looking for their first win in May and their first goal in front of home fans in well over a month.

Series History

All time: 29W-25D-27LLast Match: March 9, 2024: Columbus 2-1 Fire at Lower.com Field, Columbus, Oh.Last Home Match: June 10, 2023: Fire 1-2 Columbus at Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.

Recent Form

Columbus

The Crew beat CF Montréal on Wednesday, kicking off a six game road trip across all competitions on the right foot. The win was the first for Columbus since March 16, with the team notching two losses alongside five draws in MLS play. The dip in form is largely due to scheduling: The Crew are also in continental competition, and are slated to play the final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup on June 1.

Fire

The Fire failed to score at home again, and fell to visiting Charlotte 1-0. The loss extended the Fire’s winless streak to six games (with two draws in that span), and their goalless streak at home to four games.

The Storyline

Wins. Points. Results. Goals. Happiness. Moments of joy.

The Fire have had painfully few of all of those over the past month, netting just five points since the beginning of April, scoring just one goal in the past six games. The league’s third most expensive roster has scored 3rd fewest goals in MLS (tied with FC Dallas), while allowing the 4th most, for the league’s second-worst goal differential. At the team’s current pace, they are on track to finish the season with 26 points, which is Wooden Spoon territory.

There is simply no sugar coating the lack of results. What’s been especially disappointing, however, is how much of the bad run of play has come in front of home fans, particularly in a league with a massive home field advantage. Saturday’s match against the Crew marks the eighth home game of the season for the Fire, out of just 15 that will be played at Soldier Field (with two of the team’s regular season matches reloaded to SeatGeek Stadium).

The team’s difficulties have been plain to read on the faces of players, including the team captain; the coaches are frustrated, and Fire Head Coach Frank Klopas was visibly emotional following the team’s midweek loss against Charlotte. Everyone is clearly unhappy with the results, something that team captain Xherdan Shaqiri noted after the team’s loss to St. Louis on Saturday. “We always try to make [the fans] as happy as possible. But this is life, we cannot be always happy. This is pretty normal. So, we try our best and I hope that we can make them even more happy this season and try to reach our goals with them together.

And yet the games must go on. While it’s hard to imagine a worse time to host the reigning MLS Cup Champions – and one of the Fire’s original rivals – host them they shall.

Fire fans can be forgiven if they look at Columbus with more than a little jealousy. In the second half of last decade, both fanbases had struggles with ownership: Anthony Precourt, the Crew’s former owner was actively trying to move the team out of town, while Andrew Hauptmann, the owner of the Fire, was actively hostile to supporters while the organization withered neglect that didn’t feel entirely benign.

In 2018, both teams found new hope when ownership changed: Precourt sold the team to the Haslams, who committed to keeping the team in Columbus, while Joe Mansueto bought half the team at first before committing to buying out Hauptman’s remaining stake in 2019. Since then, however, the stories of the two teams diverge sharply.

The Crew have won two MLS Cups (in 2020 and 2023), and the team is just one win away from being the second MLS team in history to win the CONCACAF Champions Cup in its current format. Under Head Coach Wilfred Nancy, who has become the most interesting and dynamic coach in the league tactically, Crew faithful probably fancy their chances of winning the title – and a trip to the Club World Cup in the process.

The Fire, meanwhile, have yet to make the postseason since Joe Mansueto purchased the team. After years of running neck-and-neck in performance (after 81 matches, the Fire lead the series by a scant two victories), it feels like the Crew have pulled definitively ahead.

And yet: As good as the Crew have been, they haven’t been infallible. Ultimately, the Fire have skill on their roster and they can get a result. They just have to show up to play.

This, too, shall pass.

Then, if the pass leads to an open player with a look on net, well, it might just turn into a goal. Past Fire teams have been in bad form and have been able to pull off surprising results against heralded opponents. Why can’t that happen Saturday?

If the Fire get a win – and the three points it brings – the task for the rest of the year, on a points-per-game basis, will be almost exactly where it was Sunday morning. A tall hill to climb, but not yet a mountain.

Columbus Players to Watch

Patrick Schulte: The 23-year-old is considered one of the top young goalkeepers in MLS, alongside the Fire’s Chris Brady. Schulte so far appears to be in pole position to get the starting goalkeeper role for the U.S. Olympic team in Paris this summer. In 2023, the former Billiken established himself as a starter in the league and finished the season by lifting MLS Cup.

Aidan Morris: One only two players remaining on the squad from their 2020 MLS Cup winning season (alongside DP Darlington Nagbe), the Columbus homegrown had the third most minutes of all outfield players (after Nagbe and centerback Steven Moreira), and yet is just 22 years old. His performance with the Crew has earned him the attention of the U.S. Men’s National team, where he’s already earned five caps, though with his age, he’s also eligible to play for the Olympic team in Paris.

Fire Keys to Victory

• Score. a. goal.: That’s it, that’s the message. Score a goal. In open play. Via a shot from distance. Off the back of your head. As an own goal off the opponent’s head. Honestly, any of those work. But scoring a goal is – and this is a shocker – essential in getting a win. And wins are essential to the Fire’s fate.
• P.S. -  and while we’re talking about this - when defending set pieces, make sure everyone in the wall who should jump, well, jumps. Thanks.

Panel Predictions

Alex Calabrese

It won't be pretty. The Fire will contain the Crew's frightening attack to an extent, preventing a truly embarrassing drubbing, but it will still be bad.

Prediction: Fire 0-3 Columbus

Christian Hirschboeck

Fire get a goal of a penal.

Prediction: Fire 1-4 Columbus

Jiggly Carollo

"Am I thinking what everybody's thinking? That I'm so glad I came, but I can't wait to leave?"It's getting bad around here. Dissent among the ranks. Nashville just fired their coach that has only ever gotten them to the playoffs and actually won in the midweek. Klopas is still here. And while he's here, the outlook is grim. But at least it'll be my birthday?

Prediction: Fire 0-3 Columbus

Tim Hotze

I’m tired of getting these predictions wrong. This one is overly pessimistic – the Fire can score and they can win a game against good opponents – but the Crew are one of the toughest teams in the league.

Prediction: Fire 0-3 Columbus

Matt Shabelman

We are so back.

Prediction: Fire 2-1 Columbus

Match Information and How to Watch

Date and Time: Saturday, May 18, 2024, 7:30 PM CTLocation: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.Forecast: 74’F expected at kickoff, winds at 7 mph, 36% cloud cover and a 2% chance of precipitationTV: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass