Fire attempt to slow league-leading Toronto FC (Aug 19, 2017)

By AP
Published

The Chicago Fire hope to break out of a slump and make up ground on Eastern Conference-leading Toronto FC when the teams clash at 7 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.

The Fire (12-5-7, 41 points) have dropped two straight matches, have just one win in their last six games and have slipped six points behind first-place Toronto FC (13-8-8, 47 points).

Chicago is coming off a 3-0 loss to Montreal and has slipped to third in the East race behind second-place New York City FC.

"We have to see the reality, and that reality is that we didn't improve our position - 41 points, third place," said Chicago coach Veljko Paunovic. "We to get back to our form, and I'm sure that the guys will react well as we prepare for Saturday.

"It's an important statement that we are very efficient at home," he added. "For us, playing at home is always a good possibility to get points. But we have to understand that we have to get better and raise our level."

The Fire play four of their next five at home where they have a own a franchise-record nine-game winning streak.

But Toronto hasn't lost in six games and has had Chicago's number in recent meetings with five straight league wins, including a 2-1 victory on Sept. 16, 2016, at Toyota Park

Chicago has dropped five straight league games to Toronto, but only one of those games has been played in Bridgeview.

Toronto FC, meanwhile, isn't just looking for a victory on Saturday -- it's also chasing history. Toronto is 21 points away from matching the LA Galaxy's MLS-record 68-point season, achieved in 1998.

"It's something we've talked about in the last couple of weeks," said Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney to the Toronto Sun this week. "We had a quick get-together to look at where we've positioned ourselves and identify the opportunities out in front of us."

This will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams. Toronto scored a 3-1 home win on April 21.

No players are suspended or out for international duties.

Chicago narrowly leads the all-time series 9-8 with eight ties and is 5-1 with five draws at Toyota Park.

Toronto is back in action against Philadelphia on Wednesday at BMO Field. The Fire resume their home stretch next Saturday against Minnesota.