The Chicago Fire will search for their first win since the World Cup break when they host Charlotte FC on Saturday.
Chicago (8-6-2, 26 points) dropped consecutive road games to Inter Miami and New York City FC despite the arrival of legendary forward Robert Lewandowski. Lewandowski, replacing league-leading goal scorer Hugo Cuypers (13 goals), has yet to score in his first two appearances for Chicago.
“Candidly, we’re still figuring it out,” head coach Gregg Berhalter told the media on Thursday. “That’s the reality. But we’re doing it, and the guys have been working hard and getting into it. So it’s almost fun to work through this and solve this puzzle.
“Hopefully, on Saturday, we’ll start to see that come to fruition.”
The Fire will be without star defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi for an extended period after the South African center back suffered a serious thigh injury in training.
Charlotte (7-6-4, 25 points) travels to Soldier Field on a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1). After hosting an All-Star Game that saw star Pep Biel and head coach Dean Smith participate, the club will play five games in only two weeks. With the inclusion of the Leagues Cup in the schedule, Smith plans to to balance rest with competitiveness.
“It’s back to our bread and butter now,” Smith said on Thursday after the All-Star Game. “We’ve known we have these games coming up anyway, so we’re ready and prepared.”
Charlotte will miss key attacker Kerwin Vargas, who finalized a transfer to Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense on Friday. Vargas’ departure means the club will go through the rest of the season without its two starting wingers after Wilfried Zaha became a free agent at the end of June. Charlotte will likely look to forwards Biel (15 goal contributions), Liel Abada (three assists), and Idan Toklomati (five goals) for attacking firepower.
Although new arrival Allan Saint-Maximin secured his visa, the star winger won’t make his club debut as he is scheduled to leave France on Sunday. Smith noted that Saint-Maximin, who will be a Designated Player, could debut during the Leagues Cup.
“Speaking to him, he’s been working hard to keep up his fitness,” Smith said. “Obviously, he’s not played a match since the French Cup final (May 22), but he might have to get match fit during games. That’s one option that we’ll look at… but we’ll assess him when he gets here.”
–Field Level Media
