Chicago Fire vs. New York Red Bulls

2017 MLS Match Preview

Toyota Park – Bridgeview, Ill.

Saturday, September 9 – 4 pm ET

WATCH: UniMás, Facebook.com in US | MLS LIVE in Canada

The trade of Dax McCarty from the New York Red Bulls to the Chicago Fire has been one of the biggest storylines of the 2017 season, with the Fire briefly going from worst to first and the Red Bulls battling for Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoff positioning. Having already faced off once at Red Bull Arena, the two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon in a matchup that could help decide who gets to play at home in the Knockout Round in October.

While much of the league was off last week, both the Fire and Red Bulls played on Saturday night. The Fire snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Montreal Impact 1-0 in a match that saw Bastian Schweinsteiger score the game-winner and come off injured. The Red Bulls were only able to come away with a draw in Frisco, as they drew FC Dallas 2-2 despite being up a man for 53 minutes and holding a lead into the 74th minute.

Chicago Fire

Suspended : None

: None Int’l Duty : None

: None Injury Report: OUT: M John Goossens (right ankle surgery), D Matej Dekovic (adductor injury), GK Jorge Bava (left elbow injury), M Daniel Johnson (left MCL injury), D Joao Meira (right calf injury), D Christian Dean (fifth metatarsal fracture), M Bastian Schweinsteiger; QUESTIONABLE: D Brandon Vincent (quad injury), F David Accam (left ankle contusion)

Projected Starting XI

(4-3-3, R-L)

GK: Matt Lampson — Matt Polster, Johan Kappelhof, Jonathan Campbell, Brandon Vincent — Dax McCarty, Juninho, Michael de Leeuw — David Accam, Nemanja Nikolic, Luis Solignac

Notes: Chicago's losing slide was one game shy of the club-record five-game losing streak set on three occasions, last from Sept 5-26, 2015. The win over Montreal also ended a four-game road losing streak (and five in a row winless on the road). … Djordje Mihailovic recorded his first career MLS assist against , making his third career start, all over the last four matches.

New York Red Bulls

Suspended : M Sean Davis (yellow card accumulation)

: M Sean Davis (yellow card accumulation) Int’l Duty : None

: None Injury Report: OUT: D Gideon Baah (broken leg), M Mike Grella (knee surgery), M Daniel Royer (knee injury), D Aurelien Collin (plantar fasciitis)

Projected Starting XI

(3-4-3, R-L)

GK: Luis Robles— Fidel Escobar, Aaron Long, Damien Perrinelle — Tyler Adams, Felipe, Sacha Kljestan, Kemar Lawrence — Muhamed Keita, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Alex Muyl

Notes: Aaron Long's goal against FC Dallas was his first in MLS, in his 27th career appearances. All his career appearances have come this season, his fourth in the league. … Bradley Wright-Phillips collected his first assist of the season against Dallas, his first since Aug. 21, 2016 vs. D.C. United.

All-Time Series

Overall: Fire 26 wins (89 goals) … Red Bulls 17 wins (71 goals) … Ties 11

Fire 26 wins (89 goals) … Red Bulls 17 wins (71 goals) … Ties 11 At Chicago: Fire 15 wins (48 goals) … Red Bulls 4 wins (27 goals) … Ties 8

Referees

Referee: Alan Kelly

Assistant Referees: Matthew Nelson, Eric Weisbrod

Fourth Official: Daniel Radford

VAR: Jon Freemon