2. Houston have won 5 of their last 6 games, with the other game being a tie.
The Fire have won 3 of their last 6 with 2 ties and 1 loss.

3. The Fire are the top scoring team in the MLS with 20 goals.
Houston are the top defense in the MLS giving up only 7 goals.

4. The Fire have won only 1 game at home this season.
Houston have won only 1 game on the road this season.

5. The Fire have never beaten Houston at Toyota Park, losing 2 and tying 1.
Houston hasn’t lost this season when they have scored first.

6. Last season, Houston beat the Fire 2-1 in Toyota Park.
The score was the same in Houston, with the Houston coming from a goal down at home to win.

7. The Fire have played 3 of their last 4 games away from home.
Houston have played 3 of their last 4 games at home.

Ok ok, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Fire tonight:

8. Dwayne De Rosario scored in both games against the Fire last season but we won’t see him on the field for Houston this time around!

9. According to betting giants William Hill the Fire are favorites to win tonight!

Prediction: The Fire sneak it 1 nil with a goal from Chris Rolfe

Because some genius MLS scheduling, the Fire will play its 3rd away game in a row tonight against league leading Chivas USA. On the 3 road trips, the Fire have traveled a total of 3560.05 miles over the past 12 days! That is an average of almost 300 miles a day. And there is no rest for the Fire team who have to travel back to Chicago to play Dallas on Sunday which makes the total mile count 5637.05 miles in 14 days, an average of just over 400 miles a day. That ladies and gentleman is completely insane.

I expect Denis Hamlett to play his best team tonight knowing that he can play a weakened side against Dallas on Sunday which should still be enough to get the 3 points. The Fire go into this game knowing that if they can beat Chivas and win their game in hand, then they will move to the summit of the MLS. If the Fire play the way they did against Toronto and New York, I dont see them getting a result against a Chivas team that has lit up the league so far this season.

Prediction: 2-1 Fire with both goals coming from Chris Rolfe.

I would also like to congratulate Chris on becoming the Fire’s second leading goalscorer of all time after his game winner against New York last Sunday.

Brian McBride has scored 4 goals in the first 5 games of the season and Blanco played his best game ever for the Fire last weekend, a one point placing a free kick right on the head of McBride of finished brilliantly. More of the same will be needed against a Crew team who will be desperate not to continue their dire start to the season. Conde and Segares are listed as questionable for this game but from what I’m hearing, both men will start tonight.

As a Fire fan, I am expecting nothing less than 3 points. There will be a lot of disappointed people on the busses tonight if the Fire don’t do the business on the field.

Prediction: Fire squeak a 1-0 with a late Blanco stunner!!

Fire fans who wont be in Columbus can watch this game on FSC at 6pm Central Time

——————————Busch—————————————-
Ward————Conde———–Bakay———————–Sega
Rolfe————-Thorrington——–Pause——————–Pappa
——————-Nyarko———-McBride

The Fire have given up a goal in the first half in 3 of the 4 games so far this season, a stat that Dennis Hamlett will surely be looking to change. As we have noted time and time again, the Fire’s home form last season was not up to scratch and they will be looking to build on the impressive 1-0 victory of New York 2 weeks ago. As for KC, they are 2-2 this season and are coming off the back of a 1 nil victory over previously unbeaten Seattle. Casey Keller was sent off early in the encounter and KC won the game on a fluke Davy Arnaud goal. Arnaud is the danger man for KC, scoring 3 goals in 4 games from midfield so far this season. KC have a wealth of attacking options with Arnaud, Claudio Lopez, Hercules Gomez and former Fire favorite Josh Wolff. Their backline however is very suspect, with Jimmy Conrad anchoring the otherwise suspect backline.

Prediction: With the Fire back to its first choice starting 11 this weekend I’m expecting nothing less than a home win. 2-1 Fire with goals from Chris Rolfe and Nyarko.

Fire fans who aren’t going to the game can watch this on FSC with kickoff at 7:30.

DC will be missing 2 of their starting defenders for the game against the Fire.

The Fire will be missing 2 of their starting defenders too.

Click here to read a some thoughts from my friends and I on tonights match.

Prediction: I dont think Blanco or Rolfe will start tonight. The Fire will go with the same lineup from last week. DC are a better team than Dallas but I still expect a Fire win.

1-0 Fire with a goal from the head of Brian McBride!

Traditionally, the Dallas/Chicago rivalry was one of the strongest in the MLS but in recent times, New England have moved forward to take the title of Chicago’s biggest rival.

Last season the Fire continued their woeful streak away from home against Dallas by losing 1-0 to a Kenny Cooper goal in one the Fire’s worst performances of the season. In the return fixture, Dallas handed the Fire their worst home loss of the season 4-1.

The Fire have not won in Dallas in 10 years and I think this is their best chance to overturn that terrible statistic. The Dallas squad hasn’t improved much in the offseason and the Fire will be clear favorites going into this game. Even Scott over at the Dallas Offside blog isn’t very optimistic about his team’s prospects in tomorrow’s game:
http://dallas.theoffside.com/team-news/fcd-v-chicagobrimstone-cup-time-baby.html

Anyway, on to the game itself. The Fire will definitely be without Brandon Prideaux at right back and Chris Rolfe and Cuauhtémoc Blanco are major doubts. With that in mind, the Fire’s expected lineup is as follows:
————–Busch—————–
–Ward—–Soumare—Brown—–Segares
–Pappa—-Conde—–Pause——–Mapp
———–McBride—-Nyarko————-

The only thing I would change from the projected lineup is starting Thorrington at center mid with Pause and putting Conde back to the center of defense replacing CJ Brown. If needed, the Fire will have a very strong bench to call upon with Blanco, Rolfe, and Banner leading the list.
Dallas’s only real attacking threats are strikers Kenny Cooper and Jeff Cunningham. If the Fire can cut off the supply to Cooper and Cunningham, I don’t see Dallas scoring. At practice yesterday Dennis Hamlett warned his defense that Dallas constantly try to play Cunningham in behind and they must be aware of where he is on the field at all times.

Prediction: I personally believe that the Fire are not going to get a better chance than tomorrow to beat their Dallas losing streak. McBride and Nyarko will show that their great partnership in preseason was not a fluke. 2-0 Fire with goals from McBride and Nyarko.

Logan Pause’s probable return to the midfield will be a massive boost for the Fire. Diego was a non factor in the midfield against Dallas. Pause has been the most consistent performer this season along with John Thorrington and both of these players will be needed tonight to shut down LA’s “Big 2.” Blanco had another terrible performance against Dallas and even after being subbed for his terrible performance, he is and will always be the first name on the team sheet. Blanco is showing his age and his presence on the field is hurting the Fire.

Everyones eyes will be on McBride, Blanco, Beckham and Donovan tonight and it is up to the rest of the Fire team to step up. If you eliminate these 4 players from the equation, the Fire have a MUCH better team on paper than LA but as of right now LA’s “Big 2″ are playing much better than the Fire’s.

Prediction: 2-2 (John Thorrington likes scoring against LA, I see him scoring again tonight)

On the field, the Fire will be missing Bakay through suspension and Marco Pappa through injury. With Bakay out the big question will be who starts in his place? Marmol hasn’t seen enough playing time to be considered so the obvious choice to partner Conde would be Diego who has plenty of experience playing center back. Sega should return at left back and the ever-present Prideaux will take his place on the right side of the defense. In midfield the only change I see will be the return of Mapp or Mike Banner to the left replacing Stephen King. King has been brilliant so far in his rookie season but playing him on the wing is a waste and hasn’t worked. He is a central midfielder by trade and there is no sense in playing him out of position. I expect Mapp to get the nod but Mike Banner is also knocking of the door.

Blanco has looked very sluggish over the past few months and the Fire need him to improve his performances dramatically. Blanco’s bad passing in the last few games has really stood out and many of his wayward passes have led to counter attacks from the opposing team. The fact that Blanco never tracks back also puts massive pressure on Logan Pause in the engine room and John Thorrington who has to come inside to cover for Blanco. In attack, the partnership of Rolfe and McBride still needs time to gel but the Fire need to start playing to each of the striker’s strengths. Too many times in the Colorado game a through ball was played to McBride who obviously doesn’t have the legs to catch up with it. Blanco and co. need to play more through balls to Rolfe who can be deadly in the box. McBride’s obvious strength is in the air but how many times have we seen a cross into the box that picks him out?

Prediction: 1-0 Fire. If we can shut down Kenny Cooper and maintain some type of shape then out quality will be too much for Dallas.