Orlando City SC vs. Chicago Fire FC | 2020 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

2020 MLS Regular Season – Week 12
Orlando City SC vs. Chicago Fire FC
Exploria Stadium – Orlando
September 19 – 7:30 PM ET

STREAMING: MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada

LOCAL TV: WGN-TV, FOX 35 Plus

Orlando City SC are one of the hottest teams in MLS right now and put a five-match unbeaten streak on the line when they host Chicago Fire FC Saturday night at Exploria Stadium Saturday night.

Orlando City SC (5W-2L-4D) are coming off an emotional 2-1 win over rival Inter Miami CF, while Fire FC (2W-6L-3D) couldn't maintain a two-goal lead and settled for a 2-2 draw against Columbus Crew SC.

In their last meeting in Orlando, Przemyslaw Frankowski scored a pair of goals as the Fire cruised to a 5-2 Decision Day win last October. The Fire have a eight-game undefeated streak in the series, over the past four seasons. Orlando City’s last win vs. Chicago came Sept. 19, 2015, a 1-0 win at Bridgeview, Ill.; the Fire have won four meetings since, with four draws.

Orlando City SC

Four minutes after Brek Shea leveled for Inter Miami, Mauricio Pereyra scored what proved to be the 69th-minute game winner to lift Orlando City SC to an emotional 2-1 win over Inter Miami CF, taking two of the three meeting between the Florida foes this season. .

"I want to dedicate this to the fans because we know how happy they are. It's a very important three points [on the table], but also it gets magnified against Miami," Lions coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. "Last game against Atlanta, I promised myself not to talk much about that game because of the pain it produced — just giving up two points at the last minute, especially seeing how the boys played during the game. But it just tells us that this is an ongoing process, that it's non-stop competition, that you have to refocus immediately.

"The commitment that the boys have during the week to bounce back to a victory against a tough rival, who was coming off a victory too and has been evolving, it was very high. That commitment was high. I saw them in the locker room talking about that all the time and that's what I'm very happy for, the players. They deserve what is happening here, for them and Orlando, and I know tomorrow they will put their boots on again and prepare for the next one against Chicago."

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Dom Dwyer (F) - knee injury
- OUT: Joao Moutinho (D) - groin injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: Joao Moutinho (D)
International duty: None

Chicago Fire FC

In just three minutes early in the first half, Chicago equalled the number of goals Columbus Crew SC have conceded in the 10 previous regular season games combined. But the Fire squandered that lead by giving up a pair of second-half goals, including Gyasi Zardes' equalizer two minutes from full time, and settled for a 2-2 draw against the Eastern Conference leaders Saturday at Soldier Field.

"When you're 2-0 up, and I think even before the 2-0, we had one or two really good chances — we're playing against the leader, a really good team, a made team, a team you always see every week and they know what they're doing and they're very good in the game and you concede in minute 88 after having, again, two or three very big chances, two half-chances or chances, it hurts," Fire FC coach Raphael Wicky said. "It feels like a loss."

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Jeremiah Gutjahr (M) - knee injury
- OUT: Johan Kappelhof (D) - hip flexor
- OUT: Kenneth Kronholm (GK) - knee injury
- OUT: Luka Stojanović (M) - knee injury
- QUESTIONABLE: : Przemysław Frankowski (M) - undisclosed injury
Suspended: Fabian Herbers (M)
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None