One Goal: Chicago Fire at CF Montréal Matchday 32 Preview
When the Fire take to the pitch at Stade Saputo in Montréal on Saturday, it will have been over two months since their last victory in the league. Even if that is due in no small part to the monthlong Leagues Cup break, it has been 18,787 seconds of competitive soccer, not including stoppage time, since the Fire last scored a goal.
And yet, Other teams in the East dropping points has allowed the Fire to remain within striking distance of a playoff spot, two points behind D.C. United and just three points behind CF Montréal in eighth place.
It’s another six-point match with both teams having credible dreams of the postseason. This match starts a stretch of game that will see those dreams become a reality or fade into oblivion.
Series History:
All time: 8W-6D-12L, 35GF, 37 GA, 30 pts out of 72
Last Match: July 12, 2023: Fire 3-0 Montréal at Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.
Recent Form
CF Montréal
Record: 11W-2D-14L (35 pts)
Montréal has lost their previous two matches, away at New York City on August 30th and at home against Columbus on September 2nd. In their two other matches since the Leagues Cup, the team managed a 1-0 victory over New England at home and a 3-2 victory over Canadian rivals Toronto away.
Fire
Record: 8W-8D-11L (32 pts)
The Fire have lost all four of their matches since returning from Leagues Cup, and scored just one goal in that timeframe, against Orlando City in the first game in that stretch. Their most recent victory in all competitions, however, came on the road, away to Minnesota in their opening Leagues Cup game.
The Storyline
When these teams last met in mid-July, the Fire were ascendant, having won nine points in their last four games, during a surge that would see the team crest at eighth place, in possession of a postseason spot. Now the team sits in 10th, having exactly zero points in their most recent four games, and are once again on the outside looking in at the postseason.
One thing that is similar to the last time that these teams met? If the Fire find a way to win, they can push themselves back into a postseason position.
Since the teams last met, Montréal has managed just three points more than the Fire. They managed a strong performance against New England on August 26, beating the Revolution 1-0 in a game where they limited their opponent to just two shots – none on target – then looked pedestrian four days later against New York City and three days and were outplayed and outscored against Columbus in their most recent game, where they allowed Cucho Hernández to notch a hat trick, the Crew’s first since Gyasi Zardes tallied three in 2018.
The Fire have been written off on more than one occasion this season. Each time, they answered critics with a string of solid results that have first pushed the team from near the basement of the Eastern Conference to as high as eighth place. Will the team respond again?
The team likely needs eleven points in its final seven games to punch a ticket to the postseason. A win on Saturday puts them roughly back on track, and expecting eight points from six games is much more palatable than the prospect of expecting the team to go at nearly a two-point-per-game pace down the stretch if they lose.
The match is the first back in Montréal for Frank Klopas as a Head Coach since he left the club back in 2015, and Kei Kamara, who played for CF Montréal last season.
Tactics and Projected Starting Lineups
CF Montréal
Availability Report:
Out: Aaron Herrera, Robert Thorkelsson
Questionable: Matko Miljević, Rommel Quioto
Montréal hasn’t changed drastically since the Fire saw them just over two months ago. Head Coach Hernan Losada still wants his team to play a high-press system, outrunning their opponents and breaking down lines with long passes. Although they rank middle-of-the-pack in passing overall, they’re 10th in the league in attempted long passes (those over 30 yards) according to Opta.
It works, kind of, some of the time, though it’s remarkable that anything works for CF Montréal given the amount of talent that they’ve shed over the past two seasons. The top attacking player the team has retained is Rommel Quioto, and injuries have kept him out of the lineup since May. He did spend some time training with the full squad this week, before going off to train on his own, and Losada has hinted that he might be available to play against the Fire on Saturday.
If so, it’ll be the first time that he’ll have the chance to play with 22-year-old Kwadwo Opoku, whose first game for les Bleus was against the Fire in July after being acquired from LAFC for $1.75 million in allocation money. Since then, he’s had two goals and may actually be the offensive spark that the squad has been lacking so far, just, with Quioto out, that spark hasn’t had a lot of fuel to work off of.
Even with Quioto back in the lineup, Losada’s squad still has flaws at virtually every position – the preview from July listed out the talent they’ve shed over the past year, and how few replacements they’ve had – but it still retains a surprising amount of talent despite the exodus.
Of course, as someone who used to live on the border with Québec, I can guarantee you that la belle province may be many things but one thing it’s not is short on drama. Today’s episode: Montréal’s Matko Miljevic, a U-22 Initiative signing, was apparently so frustrated with his lack of playing time – he’s tallied just 124 minutes this season – that he decided to start playing in a amateur league in the suburbs north of Montréal under a false name, where, reportedly, he got into an altercation with another player causing him to be suspended from the league.
The clincher? The league ranks players individually, and players are subject to be re-ranked at any time. Teams are limited to a certain number of highly-ranked players to ensure competitive balance. “A” is highest, for “Competitive.”
Miljevic, apparently, was ranked “B,” for “Semi-Competitive.” Per the Major League Soccer Players Association, he has $593,364 in guaranteed compensation this season. This league certainly still has its moments.
Chicago Fire
Injury Report:
Out: Victor Bezerra, Javier Casas, Jr, Chris Mueller, Federico Navarro, Kacper Przybyłko
Questionable: Jonathan Dean, Carlos Terán
After a two-week break for most of the squad, the Fire don’t have long to work off the rust, with three games in the span of a week. This means that, despite having a rested squad today, Klopas will have to plan carefully with an eye on upcoming matches.
Despite the demands for his services over the upcoming week, Kei Kamara will likely get the nod at striker: He’s had plenty of time off, and the second option, Gorgeous Koutsias, was just with the Greek U-21s and although he’s expected to be available, there is a certain poetry to having Kamara start against his previous club, particularly when reports seem to indicate that there isn’t particularly a lot of love lost between the striker and his previous employer. Revenge is a dish best served in getting your 145th goal to tie Landon Donovan for second all-time in the league, you could say.
Xherdan Shaqiri played just a hair under two full matches for the Swiss National Team over the international break, most recently on Tuesday, and given the number of minutes and intercontinental travel, makes him unlikely to start on Saturday. That makes the choice at #10 easy, and Brian Gutiérrez will take the role.
Against D.C. United, the Fire played Maren Haile-Selassie on the left wing and started Fabian Herbers on the right. That experiment did produce desirable results, and I don’t think that it’s something we will see again. Although Jairo Torres was called up to the México U-23s - where he scored a goal – he wasn’t away as long as Shaqiri was, and has the regenerative benefits of youth in his favor. He may well start at the left wing, as Klopas sees if he can carry over some of the momentum he found playing for El Tri to the Fire.
Ousmane Doumbia has had moments of extremely strong play for the Fire and should get another look in the Starting XI. Given Montréal’s run-heavy, quick-in-transition style of play, it would be great if Federico Navarro were available, but unfortunately, he is out with a upper leg injury, meaning Gatón Giménez will likely return to pairing alongside Doumbia.
Behind them, expect Rafael Czichos and Mauricio Pineda to start as center backs, with Carlos Terán questionable. Regardless of which center backs are on the field, they should be doing their work in front of Chris Brady, as would be expected.
Miguel Ángel Navarro was called up to the Venezuelan National Team and played nearly the full match on Tuesday, but the game was, mercifully, in Venezuela and not the far more distant Paraguay, and he should be ready on Saturday. Arnaud Souquet seems to have moved past whatever issue kept him out of the XI for a spell last month and should also get the nod on the right. He is, however, currently just one yellow card away from a one-match suspension, so he needs to play well, but also play smart, with a big game coming up midweek.
Fire Keys to Victory
- Get a Goal, and Early: This is obvious but going three consecutive games without a goal puts a team in a psychologically precarious state. Score early. Get the monkey off your back. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to be in the net. (Or then again, maybe it doesn’t – Brady still probably wishes there was a better angle on the goal Vancouver scored against him a few weeks ago. Regardless, it just has to count.)
- Get Kei His Just Desserts: Yes, this is a repeat of the last time that the Fire played Montréal but Kei Kamara remains at 144 goals. After a strong start to the season, he’s quieted down, but #145 is coming. There’s no time like the present, particularly with the Fire in the midst of a goalless drought.
- Be a Team: Most Fire fans have blocked out the club’s awful 2020 rebrand to the extent that denial allows them to, but along with the logo (if we can call it that) was an equally terrible motto: “Be Chicago. Be Football. Be a Club.” The use of the word “Club” instead of “Team” is… interesting there but the fact is that a team has resilience, a shared goal and purpose (whereas a club has… a house? A little toothpick in it?). The team hasn’t had the results they have wanted over their past few matches, but if they play like a team as opposed to a group of individuals, they can grind out a result.
Panel Predictions
Alex Calabrese
My head says 2-0 Montréal, I’ve seen this story before. However, I (perhaps delusionally) think that the international break may have been a helpful reset. The Fire snag a road win. Très bien.
Prediction: Montréal 1-3 Fire
John Carollo
It's gonna be five in a row. The Fire show up, not really doing anything different from what they've done before, and they're gonna let Montreal catch them sleeping. It won't be quite like the DC game where it seems like the Fire didn't wake up that morning, but it's gonna be an L. The good news is that if we lose this game, I'd give us a better chance in Columbus. Cause narrative. But first, narrative.
Prediction: Montréal 3-1 Fire
Christian Hirschboeck
Vibes are heading back to low but I think this win will turn things around for some last bits of hope for the season.
Prediction: Montréal 1-2 Fire
Tim Hotze
I’m tempted just to say “I’m ready to be hurt again,” but the fact of the matter is that there is no reason that the Fire can’t win this game. They have the talent; they’ve had issues with different stages of execution over the past stretch, but if one break can derail a run of good form, maybe another one has put things back on track.
Prediction: Montréal 1-2 Fire
Matt Shabelman
FIREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Prediction: Montréal 0-4 Fire
Match Information and How to Watch
Date and Time: Saturday, September 16, 2023, 6:30PM CTLocation: Stade Saputo, Montréal, QC. Forecast: 66’F expected at kick off, with 54% humidity, winds at mph, 75% cloud cover and a 0% chance of precipitationTV: Apple TV - MLS Season PassRadio: wlsam.com (English), TUDN 1200 AM (Spanish)
