Chicago Fire will host San Diego FC in a Major League Soccer affair at Soldier Field this weekend, with the Fire looking to hold on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Meanwhile, visitors and MLS newcomers lead the Western Conference standings and are looking to hold on to that position with a win on this trip.

Match preview

Chicago Fire come into this one looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats across two competitions, having lost 3-1 after extra-time to Minnesota United in the US Open Cup quarter-finals, just days after suffering a 2-1 away to FC Cincinnati in MLS action last time out.

They return home for this fixture, where results have been far from convincing – the Fire did win their most recent match at Soldier Field, but that stands as one of only two home victories in nine MLS games this season. 

They have drawn four and lost three of the remaining seven, failing to score in the two home defeats before winning their last home game.

Under Gregg Berhalter, Chicago have shown they can be entertaining, especially in high-scoring affairs, but consistency at home remains a major concern as they try to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race, currently sitting ninth with 28 points, two points ahead of 10th-placed Charlotte.

This weekend will mark their first-ever meeting with San Diego, and they will need to be sharper at both ends of the pitch to avoid slipping further behind the pace.

San Diego, on the other hand, saw their four-match winning streak in MLS come to an end last weekend, suffering a dramatic 4-3 defeat at home to Houston Dynamo. 

Despite taking the lead twice in the game, Mikey Varas’s side conceded the decisive goal 10 minutes into stoppage time in what was their first loss in five matches.

Still, they remain top of the Western Conference and encouragingly for the visitors, they are on a three-match winning streak away from home and will be hoping to extend that in Chicago. 

They have shown great resilience on the road lately, and will take confidence from their recent form, having won four of their last five away matches, as they gear up for their first-ever encounter with the Fire.

San Diego remain the most potent attacking side in the Western Conference with 44 goals scored and will be aiming to return to winning ways quickly in order to keep hold of their position at the top, just one point ahead of second-placed Vancouver, who have played one fewer game.

Chicago Fire MLS Playoffs form:

Chicago Fire form (all competitions):

San Diego MLS Playoffs form:

San Diego form (all competitions):

Team News

Chicago head into this game without Justin Reynolds, who is dealing with a head injury, and Chris Mueller, who is still on leave for personal reasons.

They also remain without Christopher Cupps, Carlos Teran, Rominigue Kouame, Kellyn Acosta and David Poreba, who all are recovering from injuries.

San Diego had a long injury list that have shrunk within the last week, though Anisse Saidi, Marcus Ingvartsen, Hamady Diop and William Kumado, are all still sidelined.

Andres Reyes, Hirving Lozano and Patrick McNair have all returned to the fold, while Milan Iloski is expected to lead the attack once more after getting on the scoresheet in the loss to Houston.

Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:

Gal; Dean, Rogers, Elliott, Gutman; Williams, D, Avilla, Gutierrez; Zinckernagel, Bamba, Cuypers

San Diego possible starting lineup:

Santos; Verhoeven, McVey, Pilcher, Bombino; Tverskov, Boateng, Valakari; Dreyer, Iloski, Mighten

We say: Chicago Fire 1-2 San Diego

San Diego might have suffered a loss last time out, but it was not for a lack of goals, rather a defensive lapse to concede four goals.

Chicago concedes more and scores less than the visitors, while the hosts are also dealing with inconsistency that has plagued them all season.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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