Chicago Fire and Inter Miami will both be hoping to boost their aspirations of qualifying for the playoffs when they meet each other in the MLS on Thursday.
The home side head into the encounter four points ahead of their opponents, although Inter Miami do possess a game in hand on them.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite previously being one of MLS' household names - winning the MLS Cup in their debut season in 1998 before finishing as runners-up in 2000 and 2003 - Chicago Fire have seriously dropped off in recent years, failing to qualify for the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
Having collected just two points from seven matches ahead of their trip to New York to take on the Red Bulls at the weekend, interim boss Frank Klopas and his players appeared to be resigned to a sixth successive season of failure.
However, Hassan Ndam's 62nd-minute dismissal for the hosts was capitalised on by Georgios Koutsias's winner two minutes later, meaning that only goal difference is keeping Chicago outside of the two final series playoff spots.
With Nashville eight points ahead of them in seventh position, though, it appears unlikely that they will be able to qualify for the business end of the season automatically, but another win on Thursday would certainly do their chances of doing so no harm.
© Reuters
Inter Miami, meanwhile, have seen their outside playoff hopes dented by Lionel Messi's injury in recent weeks, with two successive draws blunting their upwards trajectory.
Following a disastrous start to the season under Phil Neville's management, the Herons have significantly picked up since signing former Barcelona stars Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, but Messi's hamstring injury has caused the World Cup winner to miss three consecutive games.
The latest of those was a 1-1 draw at home against New York City at the weekend, with Tomas Aviles dramatically rescuing a point for the hosts by equalising in the fifth minute of injury-time after Santiago Rodrigues looked to have won it towards the latter stages of the match.
While head coach Gerardo Martino will take great pride that his team have managed to remain unbeaten in Messi's absence, he will know that they cannot afford many more occasions where they drop points if they are to make up ground on the sides above them in the table, starting from their trip to Chicago in midweek.
Team News
© Reuters
Chicago will remain without Chris Mueller for the remainder of the season due to a hip issue, while Mauricio Pineda, Federico Navarro and Victor Bezerra are all likely to miss out in midweek due to leg injuries.
Having returned to winning ways in their last match, Klopas is unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI, with former Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri continuing to feature in an attacking midfield role.
Inter Miami, meanwhile, will travel without Ian Fray, Franco Negri, Corentin Jean, Gregore and Alba, while Messi will be assessed ahead of Thursday's match.
Martino has hinted that Messi's return to first-team action is imminent, with the former Barcelona boss revealing that Messi is "feeling better and better."
However, it is unlikely that Messi will be named among the starting XI, meaning that Josef Martinez may be handed an opportunity to impress from the outset after only being used from the bench at the weekend.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Dean, Ornsberg, Teran, Navarro; Doumbia, Gimenez; Herbers, Shaqiri, Torres; Koutsias
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Aviles, Kryvtsov, Miller; Ruiz, Arroyo, Busquets, Cremaschi, Allen; Martinez, Farias
We say: Chicago Fire 1-2 Inter Miami
With time running out for them to rescue a playoff spot, Inter Miami will be desperate to get Messi back onto the pitch as soon as possible, but it may be from the bench at best in this match.
Despite winning their last match, Chicago were fortunate to benefit from a red card for their opponents, and we can envisage Inter Miami returning to winning ways themselves in midweek.
How to watch
You can watch Chicago Fire vs. Inter Miami and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Brett Curtis
