BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – With this team now winless in three straight, Chicago Fire head coach Carlos de los Cobos told reporters on Thursday that he might make some changes to his starting lineup for Saturday’s match against Houston (8:30 pm ET, Direct Kick, MatchDay Live).
De los Cobos suggested that defender Dasan Robinson could replace rookie Jalil Anibaba at right back and that Baggio Husidic or Daniel Paladini could take the place of center midfielder Mike Videira.
De los Cobos added that defender Yamith Cuesta will play for injured center back Cory Gibbs if Gibbs – who is listed as doubtful with a left hamstring strain and sat out training on Thursday – can’t go.
Anibaba, Gibbs and Videira have each started all five of the Fire’s league matches.
“I don’t know if [Anibaba] will play,” de los Cobos said. “Maybe we’ll start with Jalil or maybe Dasan. Dasan is an experienced player; I liked his two last matches when we played away against Seattle and Portland.”
De los Cobos cited Videira’s lack of offensive production as the reason for considering Paladini and Husidic for the first 11.
“I think we need to improve in the creation aspect,” he said. “Maybe another player like Paladini or Baggio will start. Mike is making good work in defending, very good work because he is strong but the other part we need to improve. Each player has his own skills and maybe Baggio or Daniel have another part to give us.”
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @samstejskal.
