Seattle Sounders at Chicago Fire - Gamethread

Saturday's game sees Frank Klopas coach the Chicago Fire for his inaugural match in charge of game day decisions. He does this while facing one of MLS most experienced coaches in Sigi Schmid and a former National Team teammate in Kasey Keller, while the Seattle Sounders continue to be one of the better road teams in Major League Soccer. Klopas faces both the long term issue of poor defense and short term issues with a struggling offense due to international absence (Marco Pappa) and concussion (Patrick Nyarko) and so is likely to give Section 8 an inspiring round of bunker and counter soccer.

Sigi on the other hand will have more options than he's had in weeks with only three injuries influencing selection. Only one is short term as Alavaro Fernandez is unavailable due to his hamstring issue from last week's game. His key now is figuring out how to best utilize the two up-and-comers in Lamar Neagle and Mike Fucito while also getting DP Fredy Montero as active in the offense as fans and national media expect. For SaH writers, and most readers, this means just playing Fredy, and maybe as a midfielder. Seattle is a better possession team, better defensive team and a very slight favorite in this one despite it being a road game.

The game is on KONG 6/16/106 and KIRO 97.3 FM at 5:30 PM

Match Day Prep: Lineup Card | Three Questions | Scouting Report | SBN Seattle Preview

Opposing Looks at Hot Time In Old Town

Tactical Keys

• Unlock Forward Scoring
• Be True To The Diamond's #10
• Prevent Early Emotions From Fire Getting Result
• Prepare For Fire To Attack Via Counter

Player Matchups

• Brad Evans v Logan Pause
• Tyson Wahl v Dominic Oduro
• Lamar Neagle v Bratislav Ristic

Statistics

Beer: Rogue XS Imperial Rd
Scarf: Nos Audietis (~13 left contact Jeremiah)
Kit: Rave Green ‘09
Where I'm Watching: Home

Nos Audietis In Somniis | Nos Audietis In Altum
You Will Hear Us In Your Sleep | You Will Hear Us From The Deep

Lineups

Chicago