The Cucho-less Columbus Crew returned to its winning ways on Wednesday night north of the border in Montreal. The Crew were led by goals from Max Arfsten, Diego Rossi, and Marino Hinestroza en route to a 3-1 victory.

Saturday, the Crew will face longtime foes from the Windy City in the Chicago Fire. The Crew defeated Chicago in Columbus earlier this year thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Mo Farsi. This time, the Crew travel to Chicago looking for a second straight road win and to win their third match in a row at Soldier Field. Chicago has lost their last three contests and hasn’t won in their last six appearances, so there is a reasonable optimism that the Crew can continue their winning ways.

However, a desperate dog bites the hardest, and the Crew will still have to be at their best to get three points against a Chicago side that gave them problems in their previous meeting. Here is everything you need to know to prepare for another installment of the Columbus-Chicago rivalry.

Chicago Fire at a Glance:

Record: 2-4-7 (10 points)

Form: L-L-L-D-L

Leading Scorer(s): Brian Gutierrez, Hugo Cuypers (3)

Assist Leader(s): Fabian Herbers (2) 

Player to Watch: Hugo Cuypers

Cuypers is Chicago’s most recent big-money signing, coming in this past offseason for 12 million dollars from Belgian Club Genk. Cuypers lit it up in Belgium with 51 goals in 90 matches and was one of the most prominent signings in the MLS over the winter. Cuypers has started with three goals in his first thirteen MLS matches and is the focal point of the Fire attack. At 27, the Belgian is entering the prime of his career and looks to make a bigger name for himself in the MLS. Operating as a central striker, Cuypers is an instinctual finisher in front of goal. On top of his natural finishing ability, Cuypers is adept at dropping into the midfield and helping link up play with his teammates. What makes Cuypers most dangerous is his ability to lose defenders in the box with his movement during the attacking phases. Cuypers has a great understanding of how, where, and when to move to lose his marker. The Crew backline needs to keep him well within their grasp to limit him on Saturday.

How Chicago plays: 

Frank Klopas is in year one as a head coach in Chicago, which is the latest step in a long-tenured history he has with the club. Despite the tough times the Fire are facing on the field, there is hope that Klopas can turn things around for the club and get them back in among the league’s best.

Tactically, Klopas and his staff have primarily used a 4-2-3-1 formation this season. Despite some early season exploration of other formations, it appears that Klopas is firmly of the belief that a 4-2-3-1 shape gives the Fire their best chance for success any given week. That being said, Chicago has used a back three at times this season and may be inclined to revert back to this shape to match Columbus given that the Crew has struggled at times against back threes this season and Chicago desperately need a win at home. Regardless, there are a few principles of play we can expect to see from Chicago on Saturday.

When Chicago is in possession, they look to expand the field as wide as possible to create space to attack in. This is often done by their outside backs pushing high and wide up the field. When this happens wingers like Brian Gutierrez or Chris Mueller will move into more central areas to create a numerical overload. Chicago will look to keep possession of the ball patiently and move the ball from side to side before playing into an attacking player’s feet. They have also shown a tendency to play more direct aerial balls into their central striker when the opportunity presents itself. In the previous matchup between these two sides, Chicago was able to have success with quick passing combinations before playing the ball long into the space behind the Crew’s backline. I would expect to see this as much as possible from Chicago on Saturday. 

Defensively, Klopas asks his team to press high up the field and create as many turnovers as possible. In fact, Chicago leads the league in “High Turnovers” in the opponent’s half. Typically, Chicago uses a back four with four midfielders in front and two attacking players staggered to protect the midfield resulting in a 4-4-1-1 shape defensively. In the most recent match between these two sides, Xherdan Shaqiri was responsible for man-marking Darlington Nagbe and making sure he could not get possession of the ball. Additionally, Chicago would look to apply high pressure as soon as Columbus would move the ball to either flank. They would do this by quickly moving their striker, midfielders, and wingers towards the ball to restrict the space for Columbus to pass the ball. Look for more of this on Saturday as the Fire will rely on turnovers to generate offense for themselves against Columbus who are the league’s best possession side.

How the Crew can win:

The Crew have won in spectacular fashion on their last two trips to the Windy City. In 2022, the Crew came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 thanks to a late Cucho Hernandez winner on his debut. Last year, the Crew won thanks to a Lucas Zelarayan stunner from midfield in stoppage time. The Crew will be eager to make it three in a row on Saturday. While that is certainly a feasible outcome (Columbus is favored, at least in Vegas) there are some things the Crew will need to execute in order to take all three points.  

1. Switch the Point of Attack: Chicago will have a major emphasis on keeping the ball on one side of the field when the Crew is in possession. After all, one side is easier to defend than two right? The Crew needs to be able to play through the pressure and quickly switch the point of attack. This will create 1v1 matchups on the other side of the field for the Crew to exploit. Look specifically for the Crew’s right and left center backs (Moreira, Zawadksi, Amundsen, Cheberko) to help with this as they will be the players with the least amount of opposing personnel dedicated to them on the ball and will be a free man to switch the ball to on the opposite side.
2. Create Chances on Set Pieces: Chicago has allowed the third-highest xG on set pieces in MLS. While the Crew isn’t necessarily elite at attacking set pieces, they have enough quality to threaten against a poor defensive set-piece team. Set pieces are usually a good way onto the score sheet on the road as well, especially if it is your third match in a week.
3. Score First: The Crew hasn’t lost when they’ve scored first in any match this year across all competitions. This makes sense given the Crew’s ability in possession and their ability to break down opponents’ pressure. Thus, the first goal is and will continue to be of massive importance for the Black & Gold.