Results tagged “Chicago Fire” from 100 Percent Soccer
An important game for two teams with identical records as the regular season winds down and playoff implications on the line.
Lovely warm fall night here at Home Depot Center; let's hope the crowd fills in.
Not surprisingly, Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena has rung the changes in the wake of the disappointing 2-0 loss to Columbus last weekend.
Sean Franklin, who played in midfield last week, returns to his right back role of earlier in the season, with A.J. DeLaGarza switching to left back and Todd Dunivant dropping to the bench.
In midfield, Chris Klein replaces the injured Stefani Miglioranzi. Klein plays wide right with Eddie Lewis coming in wide left and Landon Donovan moving into a striker role in place of Brian Jordan, who will also start the night on the bench. So it will be Chris Birchall in the defensive midfield role in the middle with David Beckham. (Think Arena regrets snapping Klein's MLS record consecutive game streak last week?)
Alan Gordon, Mike Magee and Jovan Kirovski are among Arena's options on the bench.
Here's the complete Galaxy starting XI: Ricketts, Franklin, Berhalter, Gonzalez, DeLaGarza, Klein, Beckham, Birchall, Lewis, Buddle, Donovan.
Remember there's no Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Chris Rolfe or John Thorrington for the Fire because of injuries; Brian McBride and Patrick Nyarko start up top for Chicago.
The game is on ESPN2.
Updated: The game will start at 8:18 p.m. because of the televised football game on ESPN2.
The 7-4-10 Galaxy play the 9-4-8 Fire in Chicago live on ESPN2 at 6 p.m.
A Galaxy win would vault them over recent conquerors the Sounders for second place in the Western Conference; a Fire victory would see them pull within a point of Eastern Conference leaders Columbus (who incidentally beat the Puerto Rican Islanders 2-0 in the CONCACAF Champions League last night, winning on a goal by Rolling Hills Estates' Robbie Rogers). But the Galaxy have never won at Toyota Park (in four attempts); the Fire won both games (home and away) against the Galaxy last season.
Both David Beckham and Eddie Lewis are suspended because of their straight red cards against the Sounders (and these are two of the team's wise veteran leaders?).
The Galaxy has four official viewing parties scheduled tonight.
BTW, Galaxy striker Alecko Eskandarian remains out injured, but he's been talking up this auction on his Facebook page being held by his favorite charity (hmm, would you pay at least $50 for Sacha Kljestan's 2009 MNT Confederations Cup jersey?).
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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