It’s been almost a month since the Chicago Fire notched a victory, but they’ll look to get things back on the right track when they welcome the defending MLS champion Seattle Sounders to Toyota Park on Saturday night.
The game, which will be nationally televised on ESPN2, features a Sounders team that is going through a rough patch after claiming its first ever title last fall. The Sounders have only won two of their nine matches so far this season, and they’ve two or more goals four times on the young campaign.
Meanwhile, the Fire have had an inconsistent start to the year, scoring some impressive wins over New England and Columbus while dropping some tough contests against the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC in the early going.
In spite of those struggles, the Fire are currently in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, sitting in sixth place with a one-point lead on Atlanta United. They are also undefeated at home on the season, winning three out of four matches on their home pitch.
Their success has largely been driven by their scoring attack, as they’ve already gotten six goals out of forward Nemanja Nikolic. He currently sits in a tie for third place in the league in scoring, just one goal behind league leaders CJ Sapong and Erick Torres, and he has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the extra attention that new midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has demanded since he arrived in Chicago earlier this season.
Schweinsteiger, who signed a rich contract to come to the Fire from Manchester United, already has two goals and an assist in six MLS games so far, and he’ll be looking to bring his table-setting skills to the field when the Fire welcome the Sounders on Saturday night.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. for the game.
