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Toyota Park
Wednesday, July 15th, 2015, 20:30 EST
Chicago Fire will Host Columbus Crew tonight, for the 2nd time this season. However, the two sides will not have to wait for long, as they meet again on Sunday (July 19th), when Chicago will be travelling to Columbus.
These two Midwestern MLS sides have been capturing the interesting and attention of MLSGoals, as they are both teams with massive talent and a lot of spirit. However both are still trying to find their form this season in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.
Columbus seems to be the stronger side of the two, with 24 points in the 5th place on the table, vs. Chicago Fire that closes the Eastern Conference table with 18 points. However, Columbus have not been consistent lately. As they saw their 4-game undefeated streak end last week with a pretty devastating 3-0 defeat to Montreal Impact.
MLSGoals also vividly remember what many in Columbus would rather forget, on how things ended with these two sides met last time. With the Crew dominating the match and leading 2-0 over Chicago, but the Fires coming back and Jason Johnson scoring the equalizer on injury time.
Hosts Chicago Fire put an end to a 6-game winless run last weekend with a very late goal, to win Seattle Sounders 1-0. Again, with Jason Johnson scoring in injury time. Still, it will probably be more of a struggle for the hosts tonight. Designated players Shaun Maloney and David Accam our out due to injuries, as well as Guly Do Prado and skipper Jeff Larntowicz.
MLSgoals expects Columbus Crew to take advantage of these absences, with Federico Higuain’s creativity making the plays, and probably Justin Meram and Ethan Finlay moving the ball forward. Still, the front end that is needed to capitalize on these chances remains questionable for tonight.
