BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. ā Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos wasnāt in a revealing mood after training on Thursday, giving reporters zero clues as to who heāll start ā or what formation heāll use ā in Saturdayās season opener at FC Dallas.
āRight now, I know who is starting, but I want to wait for the match to say,ā de los Cobos said.
The Mexican tactician couldnāt hide who he played in an intra-squad scrimmage, though. The first team, lined up in a 3-5-2, featuring Sean Johnson in net; Jalil Anibaba, Josip Mikulic and Cory Gibbs on the backline; Gonzalo Segares, Bratislav Ristic, Logan Pause, Marco Pappa and Baggio Husidic in the midfield; and GastĆ³n Puerari and Diego ChĆ”ves up top.
WATCH: Fire players talk about new tactical setup
Absent from the first string was winger/forward Patrick Nyarko. He featured on the flank for the second team.
Three players who didnāt practice and definitely wonāt feature on Saturday are Steven Kinney, Mike Banner and Calen Carr. Kinney and Banner are still dealing with injuries picked up last year while Carr will miss the match due to a concussion suffered earlier in preseason.
All three are the only players listed on Chicagoās injury report.
āThe other guys are all ready to play,ā de los Cobos said.
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @samstejskal.