Second Chances: Chicago Fire vs Atlanta United Match 10 Preview

The Fire have their second of matches in a row at home, this time facing off against a high-powered Atlanta team that, not unlike the Fire, is getting increasingly hungry for results.

The Fire will be looking to avenge their 3-0 defeat in Atlanta on Easter Sunday, while Atlanta will be hoping that the change in venue won’t change the results for the home team.

Series History

All time: 5W-2D-8LLast Match: March 31, 2024: Atlanta 3-0 Fire at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.Last Home Match: May 20, 2023: Fire 3-3 Atlanta at Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.

Recent Form

Atlanta

Since meeting the Fire, Atlanta managed draws against a struggling New York City FC team (1-1) and the Philadelphia Union (2-2) before losing 2-1 at the hands of FC Cincinnati last week. Despite the loss, the one welcome piece of news for Atlanta is that Tiago Almada scored the loan goal for the Five Stripes. He’s having a dip in form (a misplayed ball by Almada directly lead to FC Cincinnati’s opening goal, tying the game at 1-1), but Atlanta fans will probably hope that the goal is the start of him trying to break out of it.

Fire

The Fire suffered the worst home defeat since the 2017 playoffs at the hands of a Real Salt Lake team that looked like it was from a different league than the Fire, losing by a final score of 4-0. The match marked the second in a row (and three in the Fire’s last four, including the match against Atlanta) that the team has failed to find the back of the net. On top of the shoreline, the Fire lost four players to injury between warmups and the final whistle, making for a short bench on Saturday.

The good news, such as it is: In between the matches where the Fire were shutout, they managed a home win, 2-1 vs Houston.

The Storyline

When the Fire faced Atlanta just under four weeks ago on Easter Sunday, it felt like the team was – possibly – on the verge of a breakout. By the eye test, the team had been playing better, and even if the results hadn’t yet followed quite yet, the team was unbeaten in two, was playing well enough that a point on the road a week prior against New England felt more like two points dropped rather than a point gained.

That came to a halt at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the team was thoroughly outplayed en route to a 3-0 loss in a match where it didn’t really feel like the team was ever particularly close to scoring. Since then, although the team managed a 2-1 victory over Houston, the strong play feels like a distant memory: The team has just one goal in open play in the last four matches including the one in Atlanta. They are goalless in their last two, despite playing 50 minutes up a man against the Red Bulls. And they tied the record for worst home defeat in team history last Saturday.

And yet the Fire have done something Atlanta haven’t since the teams last met: Won a football match.

With just under one-third of the season in the books, it’s becoming do-or-die time for the Fire. The team is currently in 13th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, and the results have been painfully familiar. Before the last match, I said that the team needed to get, preferably, seven points out of its three-game homestand. Well, after last week, that isn’t possible, but the team can still manage six points.

With boos raining down from the smaller-than-normal crowd at Soldier Field last week, the team needs to start getting results – for the fans and for the players - to make the case that this team can string together results, climb out of the basement, and force its way into contention.

Atlanta Players to Watch

Thiago Almada: He hasn’t been playing well lately, but I wouldn't bet on a continued dip in form from the young Argentine. Scoring a goal last match may be the start of him breaking out of the mini-slump that he’s hit, and he would like nothing more than to be the face of victory against the Fire. With rumors that he may be sold to a European team this summer, this may well be his last match against the Fire for the foreseeable future.

Saba Lobjanidze: He may be the least well-known Designated Player on Atlanta United’s roster, but the 29-year-old Georgian international has been effective since joining Atlanta last summer. He’s already got one goal and three assist this season, alongside 21 shots (nine on target) for Atlanta. Lobjanidze made seven goal contributions in just 467 minutes last year – an average of one contribution every 67 minutes – and even if he hasn’t matched that pace so far this season, he remains a dangerous, under-appreciated weapon on Atlanta’s lineup.

Fire Keys to Victory

• Next man up: Although several players will be gameday decisions, The Fire are unlikely to have anything close to the full squad healthy for Saturday’s match. When Kellyn Acosta was asked how the team could compensate shortly after the loss to Real Salt Lake, he emphasized the importance of the “next man up mentality.” That will be crucial here. Every minute is also an opportunity, and with players like Georgios Koutsias more likely to see serious minutes than most games, he’s got an opportunity to make the case that he should be seeing the pitch for more than late-game cameos.
• Keep focused: When asked about the defensive lapses on Saturday – specifically, leaving league-leading scorer Chicho Arango completely unmarked on a corner, leading directly to a goal that torpedoed the Fire’s chances of a comeback – Fire Head Coach Frank Klopas emphasized the importance of "concentration." I'm not sure if that's fully it, but there were clearly mental lapses. Arango punished the Fire. Atlanta have more players than Real Salt Lake capable of doing the same.
• Long balls, fast movements: Most of the Fire's recent injuries are in the midfield, giving the team fewer options than normal to advance the ball. That may actually work out fine for the Fire, since they've been trying to build up too methodically and a team like Atlanta is more than capable of stopping attacks before they really have a chance to get started. Playing long balls on the attack to Cuypers (or Koutsias, who is likely to start) is one strategy to keep things moving and not rely too much on what will almost certainly be a makeshift midfield.

Panel Predictions

Alex Calabrese

Prediction: Fire 0-3 Atlanta

Jiggly Carollo

"Good job. I hope you get a good job."The Fire are about to follow up one of the most complete and utterly terrible performances any of us have ever seen with a half decent month of May. It's a home stand against a bunch of teams that deserve to lose, plus the game in St. Louis. So many people will wipe the memory of that RSL game out of their heads. That's what the Fire do, they excel in getting you to forget who they are. And we'll see that this week against Atlanta, where they will do what they usually do at home against them and somehow get points where they shouldn't. And they really shouldn't.

Prediction: Fire 1-1 Atlanta

Christian Hirschboeck

Prediction: Fire 1-3 Atlanta

Tim Hotze

I’ve predicted wins, the team gets blown out. Well, well, to pull a page out of Jiggly’s playbook and Missy Elliot’s songbook:

Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gnaht ym tup i

And let’s see if I can keep up my streak of making wrong predictions.

Prediction: Fire 1-2 Atlanta

Max Sanchez-Josa

As always, the Fire will start well and play a dominant first half (possession-wise). A few mistakes will begin to open up holes in the defense and the first half will probably end with the Fire down a goal. Atlanta will begin to dominate the second half and begin scoring. I say 2-1 because I feel bad saying something like 4-1 for Atlanta. The 1 is, of course, Arigoni with his first goal of the season… best outside back in the league.

Prediction: Fire 1-2 Atlanta

Matt Shabelman

Editor’s note: Matt initially called this a “2-2 Fire” result, which speaks volumes about how things are feeling right now.

Prediction: Fire 2-2 Atlanta

Match Information and How to Watch

Date and Time: Saturday, April 27, 2024, 7:30 PM CTLocation: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.Forecast: 72’F expected at kickoff, winds at 15 mph, 54% cloud cover and a 10% chance of precipitation.TV: MLS Season Pass