The Chicago Fire have known for weeks that they would certainly reach the MLS postseason, and now they even know their first-round opponent. But with Decision Day looming, several questions remain that Gregg Berhalter will need to answer to best set the team up for playoff success.
Columbus are well below the Fire in the standings, sitting in 8th place at the moment. However, this is a team that rose from the dead in the last two months of the season under interim head coach Laurent Courtois – the Crew were at the bottom of the East at the beginning of September and have not only resurrected postseason hopes, but have already clinched a spot and can still finish as high as 6th.
It’s a perfect, high-intensity opponent for Berhalter’s side in their final tune-up for the playoffs with home-field advantage.
Defensive stability and continuity
This season, the Fire have one of the deepest rosters in all of MLS, with several extremely viable options at every position. That is especially true on the back line, where seven players have made an argument to start across four spots.
Despite that, the Men in Red can’t seem to keep the ball out of their own net for 90 minutes. They have just one shutout since the World Cup – a 1-0 win over Charlotte during the international break – and have conceded twice in each of their last three games against dramatically inferior opponents: Atlanta, Orlando, and Colorado.
