Toronto FC vs. Chicago Fire: Major League Soccer – week 9 Preview
Toronto FC take on fellow Major League Soccer franchise, Chicago Fire, in the week 9 fixture at BMO Field on Saturday, May 14.
Both teams are in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference; TFC reside at seventh spot with 10 points, while the Fire are three points behind in eighth place.
TFC come to the match on the back of a defeat at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Dallas-c39095 at Pizza Hut Park. The Reds remained helpless in front of the2010 MLS Cup finalists despite the Toros facing a hectic schedule. Conceding a whopping 15 goals in the season so far clearly
shows that the defence is weak and not getting any better.
On the other hand, Saturday’s opponents, the Fire have been struggling ever since the start of the season. The team enters BMO Field after three consecutive draws followed by two losses in the last five games. Even their most recent fixture against Vancouver
Whitecaps FC at Toyota Park could not produce a positive result for the team.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Toronto-FC-c40744
Even though the Reds won their last game at BMO field, they are yet to hit a consistent patch of form. Their latest win came after a long wait but a positive performance at Pizza Hut Park would be anticipated.
Aron Winter has done more tinkering to the formation than he has paid attention to players individually. The team is yet to find an alternative to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dwayne-De-Rosario-c11765, who left for New York Red Bulls after making a lone appearance for TFC this season.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Javier-Martina-c18069 has been a good addition to roster especially in the forward line-up and adds International experience to the team, however, he is yet to find a supportive striker up front.
The defence has been a disaster; conceding 15 goals has not helped Martina and Alan Gordon, who have scored most of the goals for the Canadian outfit.
Chicago Fire
Despite having experience on their side, the Fire have been struggling in the league for the last couple of years. The team has won only a single match in the season so far, an early season win against Sporting Kansas City on March 26.
The team has conceded 13 goals in the 2011 season, which indicates that the defence is comparatively stronger than Saturday’s opponents, though, that is not saying much. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carlos-c8346 de los Cobos has to improve the performances by several notches in order to achieve
a more reasonable position in the Eastern Conference.
Forward line-up, including http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Diego-c11058 Chaves and Dominic Oduro, has been individually good but the collaborative effort still lacks in the attacking third. Chaves leads the board with four goals, followed closely by midfielder Marco Papa with a tally of three.
Instead of a traditional 4-4-2 formation, a 4-1-4-1 setup might be a more appropriate formation for the team with Chaves upfront. The player is capable of turning the tables in the run of play and that might just be the spark Chicago fire need at the moment.
Following are the respective probable line-ups for Winter and Cobos:
Toronto FC starting XI
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-Gordon-c4252, Javier Martina
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chicago-Fire-c38795 starting XI
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dominic-Oduro-c11508
Prediction
Both teams fill the same shoes and there is not much action expected from the teams. The home ground might help TFC but Chicago will be taking advantage of their experience. A 2-2 draw is the most likely of results.
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