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MLS Minnesota United FC

Minnesota United vs. Chicago Fire FC Preview

July 26, 2023 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Minnesota United FC News Release


GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - MNUFC tomorrow night looks to avenge its 2-1 regular-season loss to Chicago Fire FC when the two sides face off during the Loons' second match of the Group Stage in Leagues Cup. Former Loon Kei Kamara and the Chicago side defeated Minnesota in April at Soldier Field in Chicago, handing the Loons their first loss of the 2023 campaign. The Black & Blue enter the match coming off an important victory over Club Puebla with a 4-0 shutout over the Mexican side, despite playing with 10 men for 60 minutes. The Fire have yet to play its first Leagues Cup match and will bring fresh legs and high energy off a three-game unbeaten streak into the game on Thursday.

HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH ON PREPARING FOR CHICAGO FIRE FC...

"We know that they've got a lot of quality. I think Frank's [Klopas] done a really good job since he's taken over. They look a little bit freer, they look as though they're enjoying the football at the moment. They've got the quality. They've got one of the leading goal-scorers in the history of the game in Kei [Kamara]. They've got the kid [Brian] Gutierrez who I like. Obviously [Xherdan] Shaqiri looks as though he's enjoying his football now, playing like a three-role behind the striker. I think they've won their last three games, so they're coming in here with plenty of confidence. But I know Frank well enough, we're good friends, he'll know that coming in here is not going to be easy for them also. As I always say, if we play well, approach the game in the right manner, then we give ourselves an opportunity to win the game."

MIDFIELDER WIL TRAPP ON A MENTALITY SHIFT AFTER GOING DOWN A MAN...

"You almost have to double down on the mentality when that happens because you know you're not going to have the ball as much. You know that it's going to be difficult. We all looked each other in the eyes and understood that, 'hey this is the reality of the match.' What I thought was most impressive is we didn't just sit back and take it. We had special players make special plays, of course, but beyond that I thought our guys were unbelievably committed to the task at hand which was keeping the zero [shutout] and finding a way to score on the break, and we did that."

STORYLINES PRESENTED BY BMW

With their opening game of the Leagues Cup, and only ten men on the field for the majority of it, the Loons certainly rose to the occasion to register a resounding 4-0 win over Puebla. The obvious standouts of the evening would be el Rey and Bongi, with each getting a brace and an assist, and leaving Puebla defenders with nightmares for the foreseeable future.

MNUFC need to turn their focus to game 2 of the group stage and a date with MLS club and NBC drama series, Chicago Fire.

We saw this show earlier in the regular season, April 8 down at Soldier Field, which would end up being a 2-1 loss to the Fire that would extinguish the Loons unbeaten streak to start the season and send them stumbling a bit through the rest of that month. But, that April matchup seems like a distant memory compared to the present, in which el Rey and Pukki are present as well, and the Loons of late look quite different from the squad Chicago met earlier in the season.

LEAGUES CUP PLAYER AVAILABILITY REPORT:

Minnesota United

OUT:

S. Jeong - Ankle

QUESTIONABLE:

F. Fragapane - Thigh

I. Tajouri-Shradi - Thigh

MINNESOTA UNITED FC vs. CHICAGO FIRE FC

ALLIANZ FIELD | SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA

07.27.23 | Leagues Cup 2023 Group Stage

7:30 p.m. CT (MLS Season Pass)

Leagues Cup Record

MIN: 1-0-0

CHI: 0-0-0

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 26, 2023


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