Matinée de l’après-midi: Chicago Fire vs. CF Montréal Match 4 Preview

A week after a heartbreaking loss thanks to a goal deep in second half stoppage time, the Fire return home to host a CF Montréal side that has been surprisingly strong in the opening weeks of their 2024 campaign.

The game is the only matinée (in the English sense) home game of the season for the Fire, with a 1 P.M. kickoff time.

Series History

All time: 8W-7D-12LLast Match: September 16, 2023: CF Montréal 0-0 Fire at Stade Saputo, Montréal, Qué.Last Home Match: July 12, 2023: Fire 3-0 CF Montréal at Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.

Recent Form

Montréal

CF Montréal traveled to Ft. Lauderdale to take on Inter Miami and handed the Herons their first defeat of the season. Although Messi did not play, Jordi Albi, Finnish international Robert Taylor, and Leo Campana, the young standout player, and longtime MLS stalwart Julien Gressel all started; Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez both made appearances off the bench, and yet Montréal walked away with a 3-2 victory, handing Inter Miami their first defeat of the season. It was another good result for the undefeated Montréal, who opened their season with a 0-0 draw against Orlando City before beating FC Dallas 2-1 a week later.

Fire

For the second time in two weeks, the Fire played a team from Ohio that won hardware last year and held their own, and yet for the second time in two weeks, they ended the match with a 2-1 loss on the books. Against FC Cincinnati at the beginning of the month, it was a familiar loss at home: Strong play ruined by a single defensive lapse and a goal off a set piece. The loss last Saturday in Columbus was also too familiar for fans of the team: The Fire conceded deep into stoppage time (ten minutes into 12 minutes of added time in the second half), sealing the team’s fate and denying them a road point against a strong conference opponent.

The Storyline

There are strong links between the Fire and their opponent this Saturday: The Québec side was the only coaching gig that current Fire Head Coach Frank Klopas ever took outside of Chicago, and during his time in Canada, he led the team to a memorable run to the then-CONCACAF Champions League final appearance. In the past few seasons, several players have moved from one club to the other: Djordje Mihailovic and Chinonso Offor were both traded from the Fire to CF Montréal and last season Kei Kamara made the return trip.

In 2024, the two teams have had mirrored reflections of one another’s seasons: While each side opened their season with a draw, Montréal responded with two wins while the Fire have suffered two losses.

Impressively, all of Montréal’s victories have come on the road: CF Montréal normally opens its season at Stade Olympique, which has a roof to fight off the chill normally seen this time of year, but that wasn’t an option due to renovations at the nearly 50-year-old venue, which stands a stone’s throw away from its festival home, Stade Saputo.

Less impressive is how those victories have come about: After three games, new Montréal Head Coach Laurent Courtois’s side has been playing a brand of soccer that looks more like the quick counterattack style the team saw last year under then-Head Coach Hernán Losada rather than the more expansive, possession-oriented game the team played in 2022 under Wilfred Nancy. Still, some transition is expected, and the results matter with weekly matches on the road.

Results are the one thing the Fire haven’t had to date: Though they’ve played well against some of the East’s top teams, they’ve got a single point to show for their work, and all three of their opponents so far have been playing CONCACAF Champions Cup matches midweek.

While Saturday’s game isn’t “must win” in any mathematical sense of the term in a league where almost two-thirds of the postseason, it feels must win in a psychological sense: The Fire play their next two games on the road against conference opponents (including high-octane Atlanta), and asking Fire fans to wait until April before they see a victory at home is asking them to swallow a very tough pill.

Despite the strong results, this match should feel more winnable than the Fire’s opening three, and there’s no better time to translate words and intentions to results.

Availability Report

CF Montréal

Out: Mahala Opoku Questionable: George Campbell, Dominic Yankov, Joaquin Sosa

Chicago Fire

Out: Victor Bezerra, Andrew Gutman

Fire Keys to Victory

• Continue to integrate Cuypers: Last week, Cuypers had three touches in the (opponent’s) box – three more than he had a week prior. He also showed some of the hold up play that many commentators seemed to think wasn’t in his game. That’s all well and good, but we need to see more. There is no better time to get him opportunities to score than against a Montréal side that is likely going to go without two of its projected starters at centerback.
• Balls in the middle: Over the past few seasons, the Fire’s game model seems to be to play the ball through the center of the pitch, advance it out wide, and then try playing the ball back in centrally. By the time the ball’s made it to the touchline and back, defenses have had time to set, one of the key reasons that the team has struggled to get Cuypers service (see above). Cut out the middleman, keep the ball centrally, and have whoever is playing the #8 midfield role (likely Acosta) serve it to whoever’s playing the #10 in front of them (Xherdan Shaqiri or Brian Gutiérrez) handle distribution to a player who can make a dangerous play, rather than continue to advance the ball forward and settling for an eventual cross
• Keep the Centerbacks locked in: CF Montréal have registered 32 shots so far in this young season (15 on target), and 23 of those have come from inside the 18 yard box, most of them in the middle channel, including all five of Montréal’s goals so far. Whether the Fire play with two centerbacks as they did last week, or three like they did in their opening match at home, it’s essential that the defenders stay locked in and focused and not give Montréal’s attackers the chance to get shots on Brady’s net from short distance, whether from open play or set pieces.

Panel Predictions

Alex Calabrese

Montréal will be a much tougher game than people realize, but the Fire are due for a win at this point. Montréal are also due for a loss. Cuypers will finally score his first goal in red, and Chicago will put one in the W column.

Prediction: Fire 2-1 Montréal

Jiggly Carollo

"I'm just as good as anybody. I'm just as bad as anybody."

The problem with the Fire over the years is how they somehow find a way to "look" like they're a team capable of becoming a force, yet they never actually capitalize on that potential. So while there have been things that we've seen so far this season where they're hanging with the best in the league, they still only got a single point out of those games despite having the ability to win any of them. And I expect them to get another single point at home against a team that can win their winnable games. This game is the Fire's chance to show the experiment is working and the offseason was a success and I don't think they'll do it.

Prediction: Fire 2-2 Montréal

Christian Hirschboeck

I don’t want to call it luck, but Montréal’s away form is bound to end at some point. The Fire are borderline desperate for 3 points, and home wins are necessary if the team wants to make the playoffs, thus this is the perfect opportunity to make a statement.

Prediction: Fire 2-1 Montréal

Tim Hotze

Montréal have had results but haven’t really passed the eye test so far. The Fire have looked decent, minus some rough edges in the final third, and yet don’t have results. Time for the Fire to get a win on the boards.

Prediction: Fire 2-1 Montréal

Matt Shabelman

Prediction: Fire 3-1 Montréal

Match Information and How to Watch

Date and Time: Saturday, March 16, 2024, 1:00 PM CTLocation: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.Forecast: 54’ expected at kick off, with 83% humidity, winds WNW at 6 mph and 97% cloud cover and a 21% chance of precipitation TV: Apple TV - Free