A spot in the semi-finals of the US Open Cup will be up for grabs on Tuesday at SeatGeek Stadium in the Windy City as the Chicago Fire host the Houston Dynamo.
Chicago took care of Austin FC in the previous round, winning 2-0, while Orange Crush had no trouble advancing into the last eight, defeating Minnesota United 4-0.
Match preview
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Quick starts and stingy defending have carried the Fire into the quarter-finals of the US Open Cup for the first time since 2016.
They made the most out of their home-field advantage in their opening two fixtures of this competition, blanking Chicago House (3-0) and edging past St Louis City before going into a hostile and humid environment in the Texas capital, holding the Western Conference finalists from 2022 to just two shots on target.
This competition has been very good to Chicago through the years, having clutched the Lamar Hunt Cup four times, tied with the Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City for the most among MLS clubs, while the Fire have also been the runners-up on two occasions (2004 and 2011).
The Fire have not lost a home fixture since Frank Klopas replaced Ezra Hendrickson as manager, conceding just once in his first two matches in charge in all competitions.
All of their games under Klopas this season have been decided by a goal or fewer, though it has been Chicago who have missed plenty of opportunities to climb up the MLS Eastern Conference table.
They have squandered four points from winning positions domestically since Klopas took the reins, while seven of their last 10 goals conceded have come in the second half, including last Saturday at FC Cincinnati (1-0).
Chicago have never faced the Dynamo at the US Open Cup, but they have a pretty good track record at home to Orange Crush over the past decade, losing just one of their last five encounters against them in the Windy City, most recently collecting a 4-0 triumph in 2020.
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Unblemished so far at the 2023 US Open Cup, the Dynamo have an opportunity to book their place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2018, when they claimed the title for the first and only time to date.
Ben Olsen's men have found various ways to stick around at the US Open Cup this year, grinding out narrow 1-0 victories versus the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Sporting KC before showing an offensive burst at home to the Loons in the round of 16.
El Naranja have not beaten an MLS team away from home since defeating Nashville SC 2-1 in their final regular-season road fixture last year, with just two points from eight domestic encounters in 2023.
Their normally well-organised defensive unit which had given up a mere 12 goals over their first 13 MLS fixtures this year have been carved open of late, conceding nine times in their last two matches, all away from home versus the Vancouver Whitecaps (6-2) and St Louis City (3-0).
The Dynamo have only managed to strike first in two MLS road contests this season while giving up four goals beyond the 80th minute away from home.
Houston have made it to the last eight of this tournament on six occasions, winning their quarter-final fixture three times, though two of their previous three have ended in defeat (2015 and 2016).
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Team News
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Jonathan Dean will be questionable for Chicago on Tuesday with a sore left upper leg, as will Chris Brady, who is recovering from a nasty cut to his head, Mauricio Pineda missed their weekend fixture at Cincy due to concussion protocol, while Sergio Oregel, Chris Mueller and Carlos Teran are all expected to be out of this game because of right upper leg injuries.
Goals from Kacper Przybylko and Rafael Czichos gave them a 2-0 victory in their US Open Cup round of 16 clash, with Spencer Richey making two stops for his second clean sheet of the competition.
Kendall Burks and Przybylko lead the team with two goals each in this year's tournament, while Maren Haile-Selassie and Fabian Herbers netted in a 2-1 triumph over St Louis City in the round of 32.
Daniel Steres is listed as questionable for the Dynamo because of a sore hip, Tate Schmitt and Ifunanyachi Achara are out with knee sprains, Teenage Hadebe remains sidelined due to a leg injury and Chase Gasper missed their match against the Loons through suspension.
A hat-trick from Corey Baird, his first three of this competition, was more than enough for Orange Crush to claim a comfortable victory in the round of 16, with Ibrahim Aliyu notching his first of the 2023 campaign and Andrew Tarbell stopping three shots, picking up his third clean sheet of the tournament.
Their leading goalscorer in MLS this season, Amine Bassi, was the last player to find the back of the net for them in a competitive fixture, as he and Baird scored in that lopsided defeat in Vancouver, while Thorleifur Ulfarsson struck for one in the 12th-minute of their round of 32 triumph over SKC.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Richey; Souquet, Burks, Czichos, M. Navarro; Pineda, Gimenez; Gutierrez, Shaqiri, Haile-Selassie; Przybylko
Houston Dynamo possible starting lineup:
Tarbell; Murana, Sviatchenko, Dorsey, Smith; Caicedo, Raines, Herrera, Baird; Bassi, Ferreira
We say: Chicago Fire 2-0 Houston Dynamo
Houston have looked incredibly shaky in recent matches, and while things can change quickly, the Fire appear very determined in this competition and we believe their attacking pieces and the home crowd will be too much for the visitors to handle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
