The first meeting between the Fire and New York City FC on July 22 ended with NYC earning all three points in a 2-1 win while playing a man down for 78 minutes.

That was the beginning of the Fire’s two-month run of bad form with teams figuring out that they could be shut down by dropping numbers behind the ball, clogging the middle of the field, and playing the counter.

The Fire played that match without Dax McCarty while he was away with the U.S. Men’s National Team and they’ll likely be at less than full strength in this rematch, at least to begin the game. Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has missed the last four games with a combination calf contusion/thigh injury, is expected to be available, but he will start on the bench.

In further injury news, Juninho won’t be available, but David Accam, who missed Wednesday night’s 4-1 victory at San Jose should be back in the 18. The Fire initially cited Accam’s midweek absence as a decision based on rest, but he has been dealing and playing with an ankle injury for several weeks. Accam did not appear on the MLS injury report issued on Friday afternoon.

Another question in the starting 11rests in goal, where Matt Lampson is expected to resume his role as the starter despite a good showing from Richard Sanchez on Wednesday night. Sanchez has also performed well in training and will continue to make a decision on this position more difficult for Veljko Paunovic if Lampson falters at any point against NYC. Paunovic is said to favor Lampson’s experience with teammates over a more unknown commodity in Sanchez. The former FC Dallas keeper showed on Wednesday night that his lack of familiarity due to time in training and games may not be a big issue, however.

New York City FC’s David Villa returned to the lineup on Wednesday night in Montreal, coming off the bench in a 1-0 win. Villa had missed the club’s previous four matches with an abductor strain. NYCFC is otherwise fit and near full strength.

Following this game, the Fire will not play again until October 15 as the most of the league takes a break during the next round of World Cup qualifiers across all regions next weekend.

(Top photo: Mike DiNovo/USA TODAY Sports)