Aiming to avoid a third successive defeat in front of the Soldier Field faithful, basement battlers Chicago Fire host second-placed Nashville SC on Saturday.
Frank Klopas's side were most recently put to the sword 3-1 by Orlando City, while their visitors ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over DC United.
Match preview
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Defeating both Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City during their recent stint on the road may have given the Fire faithful renewed hope after previously laying witness to a five-game winless run, a miserable streak which also included a 4-1 US Open Cup thumping at the hands of the Houston Dynamo.
However, Klopas's side were brought crashing back down to earth during last weekend's battle with Orlando City at the Exploria Stadium, where a Facundo Torres brace and Ramiro Enrique strike either side of Xherdan Shaqiri's response saw the Fire return to losing ways.
Only Toronto and Inter Miami have performed worse than Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference so far in 2023, with the hosts' 23 points only good enough for 13th place in the standings, and only three of their last 14 games have now ended in victory.
However, the hosts have taken on the role of stalemate specialists on their own territory this season, as Klopas's side have shared the spoils on six occasions at Soldier Field this term - winning a further two home games and suffering just one defeat.
The Fire have also failed to score just once on home turf this season, but their sole loss came in their most recent encounter in front of their own fans - a 2-1 beating at the hands of Columbus Crew - and Nashville have their own wrongs to right on Saturday.
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The less said about Nashville's recent road sojourn the better, as Gary Smith's team were seen off by Montreal and Columbus Crew without a single goal to their name, but Randall Leal dusted off his best shooting boots to get his side back on track at GEODIS Park.
Last weekend's visit of DC United saw Leal net a brace before the half-time whistle blew, and the Boys in Gold survived a 64th-minute red card to Walker Zimmerman to keep Wayne Rooney's charges at bay and make a welcome return to winning ways.
Home has certainly been where the heart is for Nashville, whose second-placed standing in the Eastern Conference is in no small part down to their six successive MLS wins at GEODIS Park, but replicating such successes away from home has sometimes been a fruitless task.
Indeed, Smith's side have only picked up three wins on rival territory so far this season and are without a clean sheet in seven consecutive matches away from home, although their total of just 16 goals conceded means that they still boast the meanest defence MLS has to offer.
Furthermore, Nashville SC have strung together a four-game unbeaten streak against the Chicago Fire since their MLS inauguration, most recently easing to a 3-0 win on home soil on May 7, but last season's trip to Soldier Field saw a share of the spoils in an uneventful 0-0 draw.
Team News
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Chicago Fire lost French right-back Arnaud Souquet to a late red card for two bookable offences in their recent loss to Orlando City, and the former Montpellier HSC man will therefore watch this game from the naughty step.
Jonathan Dean is the most likely candidate to fill in for Souquet this week, while the trio of Chris Mueller, Javier Casas and Federico Navarro are all nursing leg injuries and should miss out once more.
A similar concern could also keep Victor Bezerra sidelined for a little while longer, but a change up front could be in the offing, as Kei Kamara has scored just once in his last nine games and may find his spot under threat from Kacper Przybylko.
Similarly, Nashville must also cope without a suspended defender in the form of captain Zimmerman, whose spot in the heart of the backline ought to be filled by Lukas MacNaughton.
Haiti's Fafa Picault, Canada's Jacob Shaffelburg and Panama's Anibal Godoy have also been busy with their countries at the Gold Cup, but the former could soon make his return after Haiti were eliminated from the group stage.
Nick DePuy remains out for the long-term as he battles back from an Achilles operation, while Teal Bunbury's hamstring problem prevented him from turning out against DC United, and it is unclear if the 33-year-old will be given the green light to return here.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Dean, Teran, Czichos, Navarro; Gimenez, Pineda; Herbers, Shaqiri, Gutierrez; Przybylko
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Moore, Maher, MacNaughton, Lovitz; Muyl, McCarty, Davis; Leal; Mukhtar, Bunbury
We say: Chicago Fire 1-2 Nashville SC
Nashville may proudly boast the stingiest rearguard in the 2023 MLS season, but keeping the back door shut away from home has not been their forte in recent weeks, and nor has taking three points home from rival territory.
Zimmerman's absence will do the visitors no favours either, but Nashville are yet to suffer defeat to the out-of-sorts Chicago Fire, who would likely accept another home stalemate against the Boys in Gold but may lack the firepower to attain such a result.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
