The Chicago Fire's three-match road swing resumes on Sunday morning when they take on the Montreal Impact at State Saputo, with kickoff scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT (ESPN+).
As the Men In Red look to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat to New York City FC on Wednesday night with a win on the weekend, keep an eye on these #MTLvCHI Match Storylines powered by NovaCare:
Form Guide
The Impact (4-3-2, 14 points) return home on Sunday following a pair of matches on the road, most recently plucking a full three points off of the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium in a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Three second half goals – including a late brace from forward Anthony Jackson-Hamel – helped push Montreal into second place in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing leaders D.C. United by three points.
Sunday’s match will be just the second of 2019 at home for the Impact, the other being a 1-0 win over Columbus on April 13.
The Fire (2-3-3, nine points) embark on their second of three-straight matches on the road come Sunday morning, after dropping a 1-0 result to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Following Sunday’s match in Montreal, they’ll head to the West Coast for a first-ever visit to Banc of California Stadium to take on LAFC.
Welcome Returns
Wednesday’s match in New York City saw the returns of midfielder Przemysław Frankowski and defender Jorge Corrales, after both had been sidelined with groin injuries. Corrales entered for Jeremiah Gutjahr in the 73rd minute, making his first appearance since starting the Fire’s 2019 home opener against Orlando City SC on March 9. Frankowski came on for forward Nemanja Nikolić three minutes later and got his first game action since starting the Fire’s 1-0 home win over the New York Red Bulls on March 30. With the Fire being held off the scoresheet for the first time in 2019, the group will no doubt be eager to return to its goal-scoring ways come Sunday.
Old Adversaries
While midfielder Nicolás Gaitán’s addition to the club has been a boon for the Fire attack since his signing on March 14, the absence of Montreal’s own Argentine playmaker has been among the club’s top storylines north of the border. Winger Ignacio Piatti has been sidelined for nearly six weeks with a knee injury, having last appeared in a two-goal performance that contributed to a 3-1 Montreal win at Orlando City SC on March 16.
Piatti and Gaitán went head-to-head on three occasions from 2008-2010 dating back to their respective days in the Argentine Primera Divisíon. Piatti featured both for Gimnasia La Plata and Independiente in that span, while Gaitán represented Boca Juniors. Piatti scored twice against Boca while with Independiente as he and Gaitán went 1-1-1 against each other in those three matches, respectively.
Piatti is listed as "out" for Sunday's match at the time of this writing.
#MTLvCHI All-Time
Sunday’s match against the Impact will mark the 19th league meeting between both clubs. The Fire are 6-7-5 all-time in MLS action against Montreal, including a 2-6-0 record in matches played at Stade Saputo since 2012. In their most recent trip to Montreal (Aug. 18, 2018), the Fire seemed headed for a 1-1 draw before a Daniel Lovitz goal in second-half stoppage time secured all three points for the hosts.
