SoccerBlogs

Game: Philadelphia Union vs. Chicago Fire

Where: PPL Park, Chester, PA

When: 7:30 PM ET

Channel: The Comcast Network

Commentators: JP Dellacamera and Alejandro Moreno

Meet the Opposition: Hot Time In Old Town

Philadelphia Union starting XI: (4-4-2) Zac MacMath; Raymon Gaddis, Bakary Soumare, Amobi Okugo, Sheanon Williams; Brian Carroll, Danny Cruz, Kleberson, Michael Farfan; Jack McInerney, Sebastien Le Toux

Philadelphia Union bench: Chris Konopka, Chris Albright, Keon Daniel, Leo Fernandes, Roger Torres, Conor Casey, Antoine Hoppenot

Chicago Fire starting XI: (4-4-2) Sean Johnson; Wells Thompson, Jalil Anibaba, Austin Berry, Gonzalo Segares; Dilly Duka, Logan Pause, Jeff Larentowicz, Joel Lindpere; Patrick Nyarko; Chris Rolfe

Chicago Fire bench: Paolo Tornaghi, Michael Videira, Corben Bone, Brendan King, Alex, Quincy Amerikwa, Sherjill MacDonald

Prediction: The last time these two squads met, the Union won but things could have gone better.

Dilly Duka gets work done during the Fire reserves' 2-1 win over FC Dallas reserves on Wednesday. (photo: chicago-fire.com)

OTF Editor Scott Fenwick brings you commentary, analysis, and the Fire week in review...

It's a bye week, so I won't waste too many words bemoaning the Fire's futility during the first quarter of the 2013 MLS season.

BY DARRELL LOVELL

Any hope for Jeff Larentowicz and Brad Davis to see the field in the next game was dashed Wednesday afternoon.

Both midfielders appealed red card they received for transgressions on the weekend. Unable to get a unanimous vote from an independent referee panel, both red cards were upheld and both Larentowicz and Davis will be made to serve their one-game suspensions.

We're not worst! We're not worst! We're not worst! (image: usdirect.com)

Each week, OTF aggregates the power rankings and visits with the MLS pundits to see what they say about our Chicago Fire...

"The Impact used its proven formula of aMarco di Vaiogoal (his fourth) and stout defense (only five goals conceded this season) to beat Chicago, 2-0.

Jeff Larentowicz displaying this season's hottest fashion: frustration. (photo: chicago-fire.com)

OTF contributor Mark Rogers digs deep into the Fire's disappointing 2-0 loss to the Montreal Impact last Saturday afternoon...

In the past it's been fairly easy to ignore the soccer being played by our friendly neighbors to the north in Canada.

Nyarko: He played like a champion. (photo: chicago-fire.com)

Each and every week, OTF's writers and contributors chime in on the state of the Fire...

The victory over Columbus wasn't some kind of fluke or due to some lapse in ability by the Crew; this was exactly the kind of team the Crew are.

Power to the People! (image: usdirect.com)

Each week, OTF aggregates the power rankings and visits with the MLS pundits to see what they say about our Chicago Fire...

"Don't look now but the Fire are making a strong climb up the rankings on the backs of a solid run of performances.

Paladini: a smile worth more than a thousand words. (photo: soccerbyives.net)

OTF Editor Scott Fenwick takes a closer look at Chicago's timely 3-1 victory over the pink cows...

Those of you who still read the Sunday morning Chicago Tribune sports page (or perhaps follow the #cf97 hashtag on Twitter), were treated to this snarky blurb on Sunday morning:

Chicago Tribune: rubbing salt in the wound.

The 2013 MLS season is about to be underway for the New England Revolution, and their opening the campaign with a daunting trip to meet their old conference rivals, the Chicago Fire. Toyota Park hasn't been welcoming to the Revs since it was built, with the Foxboro boys going just 1-6-2 in their last nine.

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.

By MIKE MCCALL

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Following his team's 3-2 win over Houston to open the Carolina Challenge Cup on Saturday, Chicago midfielder Jeff Larentowicz offered his assessment of how the Fire's revamped midfield is coming together.

"We're getting it slowly," he said.

Please welcome OTF's new contributing writer Daniel Casey as he breaks down Chicago's Saturday night 3-2 win over Houston in game one of the Carolina Challenge Cup preseason tournament

It's been a positive preseason thus far for the Chicago Fire. New signings have begun to blend into the squad quite well and several newcomers look like they've certainly earned a spot for themselves come the regular season.

The New England Revolution kicked off their 2013 MLS season in historic fashion, earning a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in Bridgeview, Illinois on Saturday night. It was the Revs' first win at Toyota Park since 2007.

Jerry Bengtson finally managed to translate his Honduras form into club play, netting the winner in the 62nd minute off a "delicious" chipped cross from Kelyn Rowe.

IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE! IT'S REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY HERE! THE REVS' SEASON HAS STARTED!

Be sure to discuss the New England Revolution's upcoming victory (knock on wood) in the comments section below!

Lineups

Revolution: Matt Reis; Andrew Farrell, A.J. Soares, Jose Goncalves, Kevin Alston; Donald Smith, Clyde Simms, Kalifa Cisse, Juan Toja; Lee Nguyen, Jerry Bengtson

Bench: Shuttleworth, Barnes, Caldwell, Dorman, Rowe, Barrett, Fagundez

Fire: Sean Johnson; Steven Kinney, Jalil Anibaba, Austin Berry, Gonzalo Segares; Patrick Nyarko, Jeff Larentowicz, Joel Lindpere, Dilly Duka; Chris Rolfe, Sherjill MacDonald

Bench: Tornaghi, Videira, Paladini, Thompson, Atouba, Alex, Santos

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.

There have already been a few trades so far in MLS SuperDraft 2013, and there is still a bit of time to go before the draft is underway. With that in mind, Dynamo Theory has you covered from start to finish with all of your Houston Dynamo news and tidbits, and of course with their draft picks.

One thing you will want to keep an eye on is SBNation running the MLSSoccer.

By FRANCO PANIZO

The foundation has been laid and now the Colorado Rapids will have to build on it.

After a disappointing, injury-plagued first year under head coach Oscar Pareja, the Rapids are aiming to show progress in the Colombian's possession-based and attack-minded system in 2013.

The Men in Red will head for Charleston, South Carolina and Blackbaud Stadium to once again participate in the Carolina Challenge Cup (CCC). The Fire will be joining fellow MLS teams Houston Dynamo and Vancouver Whitecaps, as well as the hosts, Charleston Battery. The Fire will be coming into the CCC off the heels of a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, courtesy of a Jeff Larentowicz penalty kick.

The Fire notched a nice pre-season win over the Dynamo yesterday. Although it didn't work out for HTIOT to get a feed (and that USL feed didn't work well for anyone else either), the Fire were able to continue their solid early form with a win. The Dynamo initially took the lead off a strike from Adam Moffat in the 15th minute.

All of the news that came out on Wednesday was pretty much pay back for me slacking off and not getting this post up because thanks to the Red Bulls and Brek Shea I had to get rid of my good stuff and start over. Just hit the delete button and start over. Trash the best post I had ever written. The most amazing post to have ever been seen by man kind.