Columbus Crew SC vs Chicago Fire SC MLS Regular Season Match - Saturday, May 12 7:30 PM - MAPFRE Stadium Broadcast: ESPN+, CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports OH, BCSN2 Links: MLS Match Center Vitals: Columbus Crew SC 18 P / 11 G / 1.64 PPG | 5W-3L-3D | 14 GF / 10 GA / 4 GD | L5: LDWDW Chicago Fire SC 11 P / 9 G / 1.22 PPG | 3W-4L-2D | 13 GF / 14 GA / -1 GD | L5: LWDLW Goal Leaders: Columbus Crew SC Gyasi Zardes - 6 Federico Higuaín - 2 Harrison Afful - 1 Ricardo Clark - 1 Mike Grella - 1 Pedro Santos - 1 Milton Valenzuela - 1 Chicago Fire SC Nemanja Nikolic - 5 Aleksandar Katai - 2 Kevin Ellis - 2 Bastian Schweinsteiger - 1 Elliot Collier - 1 Brandon Vincent - 1 Alan Gordon - 1 Previous Meeting: Sat., April 7, 2018 - 8:30 PM ET @ Toyota Park Columbus Crew SC 0, Chicago Fire SC 1 Notes: Both squads are coming off mid-week matches, so everyone should be equally tired and miserable. That being said, it looks like the Fire haven't had much squad rotation over the last two games, so they may be on wearier legs than the Crew. Probably means we should be in for some high-quality, sharp soccer. Huzzah! Oh, and Tchani has not played in Chicago's last four matches, presumably to rest him for this very game. A clever tactic to be sure, but it won't work, Veljko! ...unless Steffen rolls the ball to Nikolic's feet at the top of the box. As they say in my hometown, "Piss on the F!re!" Discuss.
If (and I recognize it is a big if) we play as we should. We really should dominate this Chicago side...
Dominating isn't the problem, scoring is. We need more than Gyasi bagging goals. Hopefully, Grella is good to start and Santos earns his salary. Three more points for the good guys.
How do you think the lineup looks? Steffen Afful - Mensah - Williams - Valenzuela Artur - Trapp Santos - Higuain - Grella Zardes Bench: Kempin, Abubakar, Jiménez, Abu, Martínez, Hansen, Jahn
I would start Abubakar over Williams at the moment, he has been playing really well. Also I do not believe Grella is match fit for 90 minutes so I doubt they would start him. The rest you have is pretty much a lock if you ask me.
Lalas went 90 in Seattle and Wednesday. If we're rotating for freshness, he's the most worn out of the 3. I like what he's been giving us, but maybe it's his turn for a day off. I could see Mensah and Williams for that reason alone. It was planned from the start. I wouldn't be surprised to see Grella from the start. Our non-Santos winger is only guaranteed 60 minutes. I figure he's fit enough for that. Though it is nice to have a dynamic scoring option on the bench. Coin flip.
I don't really like it either. Gregg is still paying for pumping him up and sending him to NYCFC, $200K? Ugh. I just suspect that's what we'll see. All 4 of our center backs scare me in some way shape or form. Williams was a bit sloppy in Seattle. Not sure Crognale is ready for 90.
Does he have a hidden talent for face painting? Because Crew are offering free face painting for kids before the game.
I don't have kids but I assume most parents wants someone who can actually stand on two feet painting their kid's face.
All I see is a broken link to an image? Is that on purpose or no? (Take it easy on me, it is a Friday afternoon after all.)
I cannot wait to see The Dispatch’s Crew coverage this weekend. The weather forecast is starting to look somewhat atrocious. So of course I blame Preschool. Even Mother Nature hates that horse stealing bastard. I hope Erickson can get his hands on a photo of the stadium with the seats empty; all the while the 10K loyal fans stand huddled under the metal erector set during a lightning storm. Tweet that news out! I bet he would pre-prep that shit.
Don’t forget standing amidst numerous dead mice and their poo. Will it be raining cats and mice tonight at MAPFRE?
I had been mistaken on Wednesday that Pups was for that game. Forgive me for being confused on the days for these grand marketing events.