Our beloved burgundy boys are back in MLS action tonight as
they face the Chicago Fire, at home.
That means it’s time for another epic tailgate and this time we know we
will be joined by 50+ Section 8 members, time to play host. If you missed the
interview we had with Section 8 Director of Operations Rudy Gomez, then check
out our latest podcast.
Now on to the game news.
ICYMI, Jermaine Jones was shown a red for “violent conduct” against
Ecuador, and while some who are not tied to logical thought let me take a
moment to bring you back…you can expect to NOT see Jones, until you see Howard,
just saying. As for some of the other
key players who were missing out of Tuesday’s roster against Colorado Springs,
only Michael Azira and Kevin Doyle will be expected to start today.
Another bit of news that we gave out on the podcast were the
injuries to Jared Watts and Dillon Powers.
A midair collision in training resulted in stitches for both
players. Powers had to wear the Petr
Cech helmet due to the fact that Watt’s 4 front teeth took a chunk out of power’s
melon, as well as Watts' own lip. Watts' sat out Tuesday’s match due to “facial pain” – these are things you won’t find on
the injury report
.
With the way the back four played on Tuesday, I’d expect to
see the same players make their respective starts today. The midfield will change a little, bringing
back the ultimate workhorse in Michael Azira.
Powers ought to get the go in the midfield, where Marco Papa played
earlier this week. That’s right, Big Daddy got a little over 80 minutes of
playing time in on Tuesday, knowing he isn’t 100% fit yet suggests that he will
be on the bench for tonight’s match.
Kevin Doyle missed out on Euro 2016 and has been training
hard with the Rapids during the break; it may be safe to say he’s got some fire
under his boots and feels like he has something to prove. Here’s to hoping that Doyle’s fire will extinguish
the Chicago Fire.
Both teams played a match earlier this week, the Rapids on Tuesday,
the fire on Wednesday. The Fire had to
go to penalties to get the win over the Indy Eleven, while our Rapids played a
tough Switchbacks team and got the win. Both
teams used a mixed bag of first team players, and bench players. Both teams may have similar lineups for today’s
match.
As far as stats go, Chicago is having a rough go this year
picking up where they left off last year.
Still no win’s on the road since 2014, meanwhile the Rapids are still
unbeaten at home (boasting that our Voice of C38 karma has had something to do
with it) so while it may seem that the Rapids have the edge on paper that doesn’t
mean that this won’t be a tough, gritty, and even at times an ugly game. It
could very well come down to set pieces, or defensive mistakes.
The Rapids are 9-3-7 against the fire at home, even though
we continue to say that each team is different from year to year, we still look
at the overall stats. Sometimes it’s
about rivalries or chemistry, and don’t forget that the Fire happen to have a
few ex Rapids on their roster (LaBrocca & Harrington) one of which we are
all but guaranteed to see so feel free to welcome back Nick LaBrocca.
The tailgate kicks off at 4pm; rumor has it that the Vanilla
Porter will be one of the selections at the beer tent. Tickets are still available, we don’t have a
player confirmed yet for a tailgate interview, but that shouldn’t stop you from
coming out to help protect “The Dick”, the Rapids may need the 12th
man today.
Predicted starting XI: MacMath; Hairston, Miller, Sjoberg,
Williams; Cronin, Azira; Solignac, Powers, Serna: Doyle.
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