The Fire host the Colorado Rapids tonight in a match-up of two playoff contenders looking to avoid a two game losing streak. Chicago, of course, fell 1-0 to Kansas City last Sunday despite creating a hatful of chances. Colorado, surprisingly, fell 2-0 to MLS newcomers (kind of) San Jose who scored their first goals of the season in grabbing 3 points on the road.
Heading into tonight, Chicago appears to be the healthiest it’s been all season, so it should be interesting who Denis Hamlett prefers for his starting eleven. C.J. Brown will still miss tonight’s match with the hip injury that has plagued him all season, and Chris Rolfe and Brian Plotkin are listed as questionable. With the rest of the squad in full health, though, it will be enlightening to see who starts at pretty much every position not occupied by Cuautemoc Blanco, Justin Mapp, or Gonzalo Segares.
I still think that starting someone more defensive than Logan Pause at the midfield spot behind Blanco would be a smart move by Hamlett. I don’t feel like Pause contributes that much to the Fire’s offense, and there’s no question that guys like Wilman Conde, Diego Gutierrez, and Gonzalo Segares have more to offer from a defensive standpoint. My preference would probably be for Segares, Gutierrez, Bakary Soumare, and Dasan Robinson to start across the back with Conde appearing in midfield. So far though, Pause has started every match in that spot so we’ll have to see how Hamlett reacts to having more options than normal to choose from.
It will also be interesting to whether Hamlett goes with Chad Barrett and Tomasz Frankowski up front after watching them waste numerous chances in last week’s 1-0 loss. Hamlett had previously stated that his reluctance to use 2006 Fire MVP Andy Herron stemmed from an unwillingness to tinker with a lineup that was scoring goals and winning games. Neither of those things happened last week though, so it would be nice to see Herron and/or Rolfe (if he plays) get a chance to work up top.
Some might argue that the fact Barrett and Frankowski at least got in dangerous spots last week warrants their continued inclusion in the Fire’s starting lineup. I think, though, that any forwards playing in front of Blanco and Mapp will inevitably have chances to score. I’d rather see a finisher of the caliber of Rolfe in front of goal when the moment of truth arrives. It will be interesting to see what happens tonight.
The match is at 8:30 ET, on HDnet.
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