Houston Dynamo vs. Chicago Fire | MLS Match Preview

Houston Dynamo vs. Chicago Fire, July 3, 2015

HOUSTON DYNAMO vs CHICAGO FIRE
BBVA COMPASS STADIUM, Houston, Texas
July 3, 2015 (WEEK 18, MLS Game #177)
9 p.m. ET (UDN)

A pair of clubs looking to begin their moves up their respective conference tables meet on Viernes de Fútbol when the Houston Dynamo play host to the Chicago Fire on Friday evening at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo have lost back-to-back league games, sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference, following their 2-0 loss at FC Dallas last week, while the Fire are in last place in the East following a fourth consecutive defeat last time out in a 1-0 home loss to D.C. United. But both teams did advance to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals with victories at midweek.


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REFEREE: Fotis Bazakos. AR1 (bench): Frank Anderson; AR2 (opposite): Andrew Bigelow; 4th: Armando Villarreal
MLS Career: 41 games; FC/gm: 26.2; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 7; pens: 15


SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: HOU: Ricardo Clark, Luis Garrido, Kofi Sarkodie, Jermaine Taylor, Giles Barnes … CHI: Adailton
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: CHI: Guly do Prado
DISABLED LIST: none
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: HOU: Boniek Garcia (Honduras, CONCACAF Gold Cup); Giles Barnes, Jermaine Taylor (Jamaica, CONCACAF Gold Cup) ... CHI: Joevin Jones (Trinidad & Tobago, CONCACAF Gold Cup)


HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (20 meetings): Dynamo 8 wins, 29 goals … Fire 5 wins, 24 goals … Ties 7
AT HOUSTON (10 meetings): Dynamo 5 wins, 15 goals … Fire 2 wins, 11 goals … Ties 3
LAST YEAR (MLS)
9/28: HOU 2, CHI 0 (Cummings 15; Garcia (67)
10/24: CHI 2, HOU 1 (Larentowicz 66; Sinama-Pongolle 91+ -- Cummings 18)


  • This is the only league meeting between the teams this season.
  • The Fire have never won at BBVA Compass Stadium. In four meetings there all-time, the Dynamo have won two, with two draws. Chicago hasn’t won in Houston since the 2007 season – after the Fire won on their first two visits there ever, the Dynamo have won five meetings since, with three draws.
  • The Dynamo haven’t won at Toyota Park since the 2009 season. The Fire have won three of the last six meetings in Bridgeview, with three draws, including a 2-1 win there in their last meeting last Oct. 24.
  • Coaches record: Owen Coyle vs. CHI: first game … Frank Yallop vs. HOU: P19 W7 L9 D3


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Manotas plays beyond his years in Houston's US Open Cup win

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