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Will Patrick Nyarko return to the Fire's starting XI on Saturday night? (photo: zimbio.com)

OTF Editor Scott Fenwick looks back on the week that was in Fireland and looks ahead to Saturday's derby with the yellowest team known to mankind...

If recent history tells us anything, Chicago has a good chance of getting at least a point at home this weekend.

The big talk this off-season across MLS was the number of teams looking for head coaches three of them being in the Eastern Conference. Surprisingly not all of the teams who axed their coaches were bottom feeders and not all teams held onto their top players.

Chicago Fire

The Chicago Fire made it into the first round of the playoffs only to be knocked out by the Dynamo.

2012 MLS Record: 17 W-11 L-6 D, GD: +5 (4th in East, lost to Houston Dynamo in Eastern Conference knockout round)

Key Additions: M Joel Lindpere (trade), M Jeff Larentowicz (trade), M Brendan King (signed), M Dilly Duka (trade), M Yazid Atouba (SuperDraft), F Maicon Santos (Re-Entry Draft), F Quincy Amarikwa (trade)

Key Losses: GK Jay Nolly (option declined), M Pavel Pardo (retired), M Alvaro Fernández (loan), F Federico Puppo (loan), F Dominic Oduro (traded), F Guillermo Franco (option declined, later retired)

Projected Starting XI - 4-4-2: GK Sean Johnson, LB Gonzalo Segares, CB Arne Friedrich, CB Austin Berry, RB Logan Pause, LM Dilly Duka, CM Jeff Larentowicz, CM Joel Lindpere RM Patrick Nyarko FWD Chris Rolfe FWD Sherjill MacDonald

Optimistic Predictions: The Men in Red turn out to be as good as they played last August and September during their hottest streak of the season.

The Chicago Fire were routinely criticized this off-season for not doing enough to boost their attacking options. The club selected former DC United striker Maicon Santos in the Re-Entry Draft this past December, but it was clear they could use more help.

When Toronto FC striker Quincy Amarikwa joined the Fire during the club's training out west, he managed to impress both the coaches and fans a bit.

With the start of the start of the 2013 drawing nigh, various websites have been putting out season previews. I have compiled a few quotes on what some of these previews have to say about the Chicago Fire and the upcoming season.

SoccerNightExclusive - Anthony Bedworth over at SoccerNight exclusive is doing a three part season preview.

Now this is what Twitter is good for.

As we all know by now, the Chicago Fire "officially" announced the trade that sends Dominic Oduro to the Columbus Crew in exchange for midfielder Dilly Duka, a move that had been rumored for a few weeks now. An interesting move by itself. But the deal also includes sending the Crew's first right of refusal for former midfielder Robbie Rogers, who was recently released by English Championship side Leeds United.

Dilly Duka is now joining the Fire. (Getty Images)

This has been a trade in the works for weeks now. Back at the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, the Chicago Fire and the Columbus Crew were expected to make a deal but never seemed to work out all of the details. That is until now, though it isn't official yet, it appears that both sides have come to an agreement.

The Chicago Fire have all but officially announced a trade of forward Dominic Oduro to the Columbus Crew for midfielder Dilly Duka (and the MLS rights of Robbie Rogers). With the move, Chicago sent out their leading goal scorer between 2011-2012 for a midfielder who has 2 goals and 5 assists in 2,632 minutes over 3 seasons of play.

Playing a team that had not lost to an Eastern Conference foe at home since 2010, the Philadelphia Union scored early and cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire.

In a display Union fans are not used to, the Union did not control the possession game, a rarity for the Union under new manager John Hackworth.

Wednesday night the Chicago Fire travel north of the border to Toronto, Ontario to face MLS cellar dwellers Toronto FC at BMO Field. The Fire are coming off a 10 day break from league action, but recently played Santon Laguna of the Mexican MX League to a 2-2 draw with an impressive display from many fringe and reserve players.

The New England Revolution are headed into hostile territory on Saturday night as they travel to Bridgeview, Illinois and Toyota Park to take on the Chicago Fire. The Revs are locked into their worst stretch of the 2012 season, going six games without a win, including four consecutive losses. Chicago, meanwhile, just trounced Philadelphia 3-1 at PPL Park last week, and sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand on all three clubs ahead of them.

The Chicago Fire Reserves defeated the Colorado Rapids Reserves by a score of 3-1 on a sunny mid-August afternoon at the Toyota Park practice field today. Much like the first team, the reserves conceded the first goal before retaliating with three unanswered goals from Daniel Paladini, Dominic Oduro, and Victor Pineda.

By IVES GALARCEP

The Columbus Crew came into Saturday's Eastern Conference showdown vs. the Montreal Impact looking like a team poised to fall apart.

After losing their second starter in the past three weeks to a torn ACL (Glauber joined Eddie Gaven on the season-ending injury), and suffering a U.

By DAN KARELL

Ryan Nelsen will have to wait another week for his misfiring side to end their winless streak at home.

Toronto FC lost their fourth match in a row despite new acquisitions Steven Caldwell, Jeremy Brockie, and Bobby Convey making their debuts for the club.

D.C. United's abysmal start to the 2013 season hit a new low at Crew Stadium tonight, where the Black-and-Red gave up three avoidable goals in the first half en route to a 3-0 defeat. Dominic Oduro, Josh Williams, and Federico Higuain - from the penalty spot - got on the scoresheet for the Crew in a game that was delayed for 50 minutes before kickoff due to a scoreboard fire.

Free nose plugs for the first 5,000 fans this Saturday at Toyota Park! (photo: theendline.com)

OTF's Stephen Mangat brings you a world history primer and a look at Chicago's nemesis...

In the late 1400s, some idiot Italian navigator, going against the scholarly consensus of his day, thought the distance from the Canary Islands to Japan was about 2300 miles.

By DAN KARELL

The match was as cold as the pitch beneath the 22 players running on it. That was until a four-minute second half stretch when both Marco Di Vaio and Dominic Oduro scored spectacular goals for their clubs.

The result was that the Montreal Impact drew with the Columbus Crew 1-1 on Sunday afternoon at Stade Saputo, with the match being played 24 hours after it's originally scheduled time due to snowfall in Montreal.

By VINCE MADURI

The Columbus Crew missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and will look to rebound this coming season behind several new faces.

Federico Higuain was the signing of the 2012 season after arriving from Argentine club Colon in midseason. In only 13 appearances, Higuain managed to create the third most chances per 90 minutes of play in the league.

The Fire may not have had a lot of picks on draft day, but that didn't mean they weren't active in Indianapolis.

The Men in Red acquired midfielder Dilly Duka from their rivals Columbus Crew in exchange for forward Dominic Oduro.

The rumors of the deal were started as early as the beginning of the Draft.

The Fire may not have had a lot of picks on draft day, but that didn't mean they weren't active in Indianapolis.

The Men in Red acquired midfielder Dilly Duka from their rivals Columbus Crew in exchange for forward Dominic Oduro.

The rumors of the deal were started as early as the beginning of the Draft.

Hey there. So yeah, you know how I said I would get out a fantasy update weekly? You can thank life for being life, and being unpredictable and simply unexplainable. Either way, though, going forward you can expect weekly updates.

Through the end of round 4, we now have only four teams with an undefeated record.

The Revolution may have made some important moves this offseason, but so has the rest of the MLS Eastern Conference. While New England has reinforced their squad in all areas of the pitch, they'll need to compliment those reinforcements with a game plan for each and every opponent they face this season.

Last year I looked into the concept of 'Carryover Minutes' and their relationship to success in Major League Soccer. I define carryover minutes as minutes that come from a player that was on a team the previous year. For example, the Chicago Fire received carryover minutes last night from Sean Johnson, Jalil Anibaba, Gonzalo Segares, Logan Pause, Patrick Nyarko, Dominic Oduro, and Daniel Paladini.

The rivalry between the Fire and Revolution has been gaining strength the past few years, and there is never a shortage for action and intrigue when these two teams meet. Tomorrow night shouldn't be any different. Although the Fire come into the matchup without their captain Logan Pause, the Men in Red are definitely heading in the right direction.

Greetings from San Juan, Puerto Rico! Finally found a good pocket of wi-fi so it's time to break down all that went down in Fantasyland last weekend.

First and foremost, kudos to a few of my fantasy sleepers having nice games, like my man Dominic Oduro who got on the scoresheet quickly in his new uniform.

There has been a lot of talk recently about how Chicago doesn't get much respect from media outlets. The roots of this might deserve further treatment than what they will get here but take a look at MLS' top 10 soccer journalists as listed by MLSSoccer.com last August. Seattle, New York, and D.