D.C. United (9-6-8, 35 points) travel to Chicago to take on the Fire (5-10-8, 23 points) on July 27 at Toyota Park. The Black-and-Red have registered a 23-27-7 record against the Chicago fire in club history. The Eastern Conference rivals registered a 3-3 draw earlier this season on May 29 at Audi Field.
In their last MLS match, D.C. United were defeated by the reigning MLS champions, Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 21. United captain Wayne Rooney was given a much-needed rest after playing in the previous 18 matches. Luciano Acosta played as a false nine in Rooney’s place, as he returned to the starting lineup after serving a two-match suspension for the red card he received against FC Dallas on July 4. Frederic Brillant and Russell Canouse both made their 50th appearances for the Black-and-Red. The game was in a deadlock until the 89th minute when Atlanta’s Gonzalo Martinez headed in a cross from Julian Gressel. Josef Martinez then finished the game off in stoppage time after he got behind United’s defense to finish a counter-attack.
Wayne Rooney leads the Black-and-Red this season with 11 goals and seven assists. Luciano Acosta is second on the team with five goals, while Paul Arriola and Lucas Rodriguez have chipped in with four apiece. Defender Steven Birnbaum has started the last 57 regular season matches for D.C. United. Goalkeeper Bill Hamid leads the MLS with 89 saves and is also second in the league with eight clean sheets. Rookie Donovan Pines has started the last two matches for United and has made eight appearances so far in his debut season.
Chicago Fire were defeated 2-0 by the first-place Philadelphia Union in their last MLS match on July 20 at Talen Energy Stadium. The Union got off to a fast start as Marco Fabian fired in a long-range effort in the 11th minute. Chicago had their fair share of chances but were unable to find the back of the net as Philadelphia would score their second goal of the match in the 65th minute after a deflected shot fell to the feet of Anthony Fontana who finished into the bottom corner.
All of Chicago’s five wins this season have come at home, as they are yet to win a game on the road. CJ Sapong leads the Fire during his first season with the club with nine goals, while Argentine midfielder Nicolas Gaitan leads the team with eight assists. Wayne Rooney will face his former Manchester United teammate Bastian Schweinsteiger for the second time in MLS. The duo played 25 matches together during the 2016/17 season before making the switch to MLS.
The match will be broadcasted on FloFC at 8 PM ET. Join Dave Johnson and Devon McTavish for the pregame show at 7:30 PM ET.
