Two teams with contrasting starts to the 2025 Major League Soccer campaign will aim to get the better of each other when Chicago Fire welcome CF Montreal to Soldier Field on Sunday.
The home side have collected 10 points from a possible 15 so far to sit fifth in the East, nine points and 10 places better off than their visitors, who are still awaiting a first win of the season.
Match preview
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After ending their pre-season round of matches on a four-game unbeaten streak, Chicago Fire needed just 13 minutes to edge ahead in their MLS curtain-raiser against Columbus Crew through Brian Gutierrez but went on to lose 4-2.
Gregg Berhalter's men were once again guilty of throwing away an advantage in their second outing against DC United, which ended in a 2-2 draw, before they finally picked up their maiden victory at the third time of asking against Dallas FC.
The Men in Red have hardly looked back ever since, going on to beat Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 and 3-1 respectively to record three league wins on the bounce for the first time in a little under two years.
Chicago Fire have seen their five matches so far produce a combined 21 goals—second behind only Orlando City (24) in the division—and another entertaining affair could be on the cards in Illinois this weekend.
Ahead of a demanding April schedule which will see them take on the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami, amongst others, Sunday's hosts will be keen to close out March on a high with all three points in front of their fans.
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Having battled from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to get themselves back on level terms heading into the final five minutes, Montreal were undone by a late Edwin Mosquera strike en route to a 3-2 defeat in their season opener against Atlanta United, and that has set the tone for a disappointing campaign to date.
Following defeats to Minnesota United and the Vancouver Whitecaps, Laurent Courtois finally steered his troops to their first point thanks to a goalless stalemate against DC United prior to Sunday's 3-0 thrashing against Nashville SC.
Unsurprisingly, Courtois's poor start to proceedings ultimately led to his dismissal, bringing to an end a 14-month stint at the Saputo Stadium and making the 46-year-old Frenchman the first managerial casualty this term.
Assistant manager Marco Donadel has been appointed to take over on an interim basis, and one of his immediate tasks will be to get Montreal firing in front of goal off the back of four consecutive outings without a goal and only two strikes in five matches.
However, Sunday's visitors could also do with some tightening up at the back, having kept just one clean sheet so far while also conceding nine goals, which ranks as the joint third-most of all teams in the Eastern Conference this term.
Team News
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Chicago Fire's Chris Mueller has been out of contention for an indefinite period due to personal reasons and remains unavailable for selection this weekend.
Fellow Americans Kellyn Acosta (knee) and Jonathan Dean (chest) are also guaranteed absentees for the home side, who are already without the services of David Poreba.
With five goals to his name already, forward Hugo Cuypers has made a blistering start to the campaign and will be looking to come up with the goods once again.
Jalen Neal is set to sit out a seventh straight game due to a knee problem he picked up in the aftermath of December's 2-1 playoff defeat to LA Galaxy.
Fabian Herbers and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint will not play any part for the away side in this one, and both men are without a definite timetable regarding their potential return to action.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Gutman, Elliott, Rogers, Barroso; Pineda, Oregel, Williams; Bamba, Cuypers, Zinckernagel
CF Montreal possible starting lineup:
Sirois; Alvarez, Petrasso, Campbell; Sealy, Duke, Saliba, Loturi, Guboglo; Owusu, Clark
We say: Chicago Fire 2-0 CF Montreal
Both teams have let in nine goals apiece so far, but Chicago Fire have found the back of the net with much more ease relatively. We fully expect the home side to have little issue seeing off their visitors en route to claiming all three points.
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