The Kansas City Wizards and Chicago Fire face off for the second time in three days Saturday when the Eastern Conference rivals play the final game of their three-game season series at TOYOTA Park in Bridgeview, Illinois at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game, broadcast live on HDNET, will see one of the Wizards stars from Wednesday's 3-2 home victory sit out due to yellow card accumulation. Left back Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. will miss the match after a one-goal, two-assist performance in front of the home fans at Arrowhead Stadium.
Chicago and Kansas City have each won a match against each other thus far this season. Chicago captured a 2-1 home victory April 21 before the Wizards earned the hard-fought 3-2 result Wednesday. The Fire will also be without an important performer as defender Gonzalo Segares will be forced to sit out after receiving a red card in the second half of the last match. The game should be riveting after a midweek contest that saw nine cards, three to Kansas City and six to Chicago.
Wednesday's match marked a reversal of trends as the Wizards scored for the first time in over two games. Midfielder Sasha Victorine's 54th-minute goal was also the first surrendered by Chicago in over two games. The Fire had entered 2-0-1 in their previous three games, while the Wizards had gone 0-2-0 in August after consecutive losses to New England (2-0 August 2 in Foxborough, 1-0 August 19 in Kansas City).
The Wizards can further solidify their place in the Eastern Conference playoff race with only eight games remaining with a second-consecutive victory over the Fire. Kansas City is already six points clear of Columbus, the 8th and final team currently in qualifying range for the playoffs with the same number of games played. Kansas City currently sits 4th place in the East, one point behind Red Bull New York.
Chicago is currently 6th in the highly competitive East, only three points behind the Columbus Crew who occupy the last playoff spot. The recent additions of forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco, forward Paulo Wanchope and defender Wilman Conde have added life to a team that had fallen on hard times through the middle of the season. New head coach Juan Carlos Osorio (2-2-1 since taking over) has also provided additional spark to the club after joining the side from his native Colombia. Wizards Head Coach Curt Onalfo commended Osorio after Wednesday's match, calling Chicago, "a very well coached club."
Onalfo has plenty of options to include in his team Saturday. Over the last three matches, 16 different players have seen the field and 15 different players have started. The Wizards bench has proved its depth all season. Nineteen different Wizards players have seen action in games this season with 17 different players having started a match. Kansas City has also had depth in the attack; 10 different Wizards have scored goals, and 11 have recorded assists.
