The Columbus Crew took all three points at home last Saturday night in a 4-2 victory against Charlotte FC to cap off a busy stretch. The Black & Gold were powered by a strong attacking performance, highlighted by a Christian Ramirez brace and a beautiful Cucho Hernadez goal assisted by Lucas Zelerayan. The game looked well in hand by halftime, but two backline mishaps presented the visiting team with life in the second half.

Columbus travels to the Windy City on Saturday and will need to be extra careful in cleaning up defensive errors in a first meeting with the Chicago Fire of 2023. It has been a difficult season for the Fire, who sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and were just bounced from the U.S. Open Cup at home.

Here is what fans can expect from the Crew’s longtime rival and what the Black & Gold will need to earn just a second road win of the year.

Chicago Fire at a glance.

Record: 3-5-8, 17 points

League Form: L-D-D-D-L

Leading Scorer: Kei Kamara (4)

Assist Leader: Brian Gutierrez (5)

Player to Watch: Xherdan Shaqiri

Gutierrez might be the hot, young prospect with all the potential in the world, and Kamara is still the MLS stalwart who can get the job done on the attacking end of the field. But a year ago, the Fire backed up the Brinks truck for the former Bayern Munich, Stoke City and Liverpool star.

The investment hasn’t paid off. Halfway through the season, Chicago hasn’t had any consistent success. Shaqiri is the team’s highest-paid player in the league and his job is to make the Fire click. That has not happened so far and it’s a reason why Chicago is near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Shaqiri is supposed to be the classic No. 10 that rebuilding MLS teams construct a roster around to make the team better. While his move to the Fire hasn’t gone as planned, there is a reason the 112-time-capped Swiss international is paid what he is and the Crew must still be keenly aware of where he is on the field.

How Chicago Plays:

The inability of the Fire to get results early in the season led to former Black & Gold player and assistant coach Ezra Hendrickson being shown the door on May 8. In stepped MLS veteran and previous Fire coach Frank Klopas.

Klopas is more of a motivating caretaker than a dutiful tactician. His main objective so far has been trying to find a way to unlock Shaqiri and find a way for both him and Gutierrez to be on the field, and contributing, at the same time.

Klopas experimented with playing three center backs flanked by attacking wing backs and Shaqiri pulling the strings behind two forwards, either Kamara or Kacper Przbybylko. The attack provided ample goal-scoring opportunities but the Chicago backline found itself overwhelmed and gave up numerous goals in transition.

In the past few games, Klopas has reverted to a more traditional back four, anchoring a 4-2-3-1 formation with Shaqiri in the central attacking midfielder role and Gutierrez applying extra skills on the wing.

The defense has looked more structured and secure, but the results still haven’t come for the Fire. A back four might be the pragmatic approach, but the thought of two towering forwards and Shaqiri barrelling down a very small and inexperienced Columbus defense might be too appetizing for Klopas to pass up in this game.

How the Crew can win:

This Saturday, the Black & Gold have the opportunity to win three games in a row for the second time this season. It won’t be as easy of a task as some may think after glancing at the league standings. Chicago, while lower on the table, is undefeated at Soldier Field this year, although the team has just two wins at home.

How can Columbus become the first team to escape Chicago with all three points? There are a few key areas the Crew must focus on.

Limit unforced errors at the back. For as great as the last two victories have been for the Crew, they were not without their defensive headaches. In both the win against the Colorado Rapids and Charlotte, the backline gifted the opposition goals that could have flipped the results the other way. In both games, Columbus’ potent attack was able to overcome these mistakes, but on the road, the soccer gods might not be as forgiving.

Keep the goals coming. Assuming the Fire find a way to get on the board at home — Chicago hasn’t been held scoreless at Soldier Field since early April — the Crew’s front three will have to come ready to play. The Black & Gold have had no problem finding the back of the net recently, but for the team to take the next step in its progression under head coach Wilfried Nancy, they need to extend that offensive production away from Lower.com Field, as Columbus has only scored eight of the team’s league-leading 33 goals away from home.

Start fast and end fast. The Fire deployed largely its first-team lineup on Tuesday in the Open Cup quarterfinal matchup against the Houston Dynamo. If the Black & Gold can jump on Chicago early in Saturday’s match, it may be curtains for the team’s undefeated run at home. Ideally, fresh legs off the bench will make the difference for the more rested Crew and give the Black & Gold the opportunity to close out the win.