Chicago Fire will be hoping to register their first win of the 2024 MLS season when they take on CF Montreal at Soldier Field on Saturday evening.
The hosts will head into this match with just a single point to their name after the first three gameweeks, while the visitors are on seven points and could take the lead in the Eastern Conference this week.
Match preview
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Chicago Fire made a promising start to the 2024 campaign, narrowly missing out on a win over last season's fourth-placed team in the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia Union, who snatched a last-minute equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw over the opening weekend.
However, they were unable to build on that performance, losing the next two games 2-1 each against Cincinnati at the start of the month before another last-minute goal concession against Columbus Crew last week, which saw them drop two more points.
The hosts managed just six wins in 17 games at Soldier Field last season which ranked 22nd in the league in terms of home records, although they did manage a 3-0 win over this opponent at this venue last July and held them to a goalless draw in the reverse fixture a couple of months later.
While it is still a little premature to label this a must-win for the Fire, Frank Klopas will know that his side need to start posting numbers in the wins column soon if they intend to reach the playoffs, which is something the club have not managed for six consecutive years.
Despite the contrasting starts to the season these sides have made and Montreal's better historical record in this fixture, the bookmakers make Chicago the out-and-out favourites heading into this match.
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Meanwhile, after missing out on the playoffs last season, Montreal have got off to an excellent start this year, currently one of five sides tied on seven points at the top of the Conference standings, while they also have a game in hand on the current leaders.
Le CFM claimed an excellent 3-2 win over a Messi-less Inter Miami last week, which kept their unbeaten record this season intact following a 0-0 draw against Orlando City on opening day and 2-1 win over Dallas in week two.
Considering their first match at Stade Saputo is only scheduled to be played in mid-April, Montreal perhaps have one of the most difficult openings to the season of any team, with each of their first six games being played on the road.
Still, new boss Laurent Courtois will be well pleased with his side's output so far, as their two away wins already match the tally they managed across the entire of 2023 (W2 D2 L13).
Team News
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Andrew Gutman has not featured for the Fire since departing the pitch in the first five minutes of their opening match of the season against Philadelphia, and he is expected to remain sidelined until next month.
Joining Gutman on the treatment table are Victor Bezerra, Bryan Dowd and Javier Casas, all of whom are suffering from leg injuries sustained over the last month.
Kwadwo Opoku played just 11 minutes against Dallas a couple of weeks ago before sustaining an ankle injury and has been ruled out until the start of April. Jules-Anthony Vilsaint and Matias Coccaro should, therefore, lead the line again on Saturday.
George Campbell, Robert Orri Thorkelsson and Lassi Lappalainen have not featured at all this season due to groin injuries, and all three players have been ruled out for this match as well.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Arigoni, Salquist, Czichos, Gasper; Herbers, Acosta; Haile-Selassie, Shaqiri, Gutierrez; Cuypers
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Corbo, Waterman, Alvarez; Ruan, Lassiter, Piette, Choiniere, Duke; Vilsaint, Coccaro
We say: Chicago Fire 2-2 CF Montreal
While Montreal have made a very positive start to the season, they will be starting to feel the effects of travelling week-on-week, especially after an intense battle down in Miami last time out. This looks like a very even contest on paper, and we feel there will be nothing to split these two at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
