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Fire's Schweinsteiger hopes to face Red Bulls (Oct 25, 2017)
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire will play their first playoff game in five years when they square off against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night at Toyota Park.
Fortunately for the Fire, it appears that their most accomplished player might be available.
German icon Bastian Schweinsteiger hopes to suit up despite recent calf and quadriceps injuries that limited him to sparse playing time over the past seven contests. The 33-year-old midfielder scored three goals and tallied six assists in 24 games (23 starts) during the regular season.
"I feel OK, (but) obviously I didn't play so many minutes in the past months," Schweinsteiger told the Chicago Tribune this week. "Of course, it's never easy when you can't play."
Chicago finished 16-11-7 this season for 55 points and the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Fire outscored opponents 61-47 for a goal differential of plus-14.
The Red Bulls earned the conference's sixth and final playoff seed after going 14-12-8 for 50 points. New York scored 53 goals while giving up 47 for a narrow plus-6 goal differential.
The teams played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 9 in Chicago's home stadium. Nemanja Nikolic scored for the Fire, while Bradley Wright-Phillips netted the Red Bulls' goal.
Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch vowed that his players would be ready for a difficult road game.
"It's never an easy place to play, Chicago," Marsch told the team's official website this week. "But we've had some good memories there. And we'll make sure we're ready to go.
"We'll have fresh legs on the field and we'll go after the game. We won't be expecting anything but Chicago's best."
This marks the third time the Red Bulls have played in a knockout round, win-or-go-home matchup. New York is 2-0-0 in prior knockout games against Sporting Kansas City (2014) and FC Dallas (2011).
The Red Bulls represent a familiar foe for Fire midfielder Dax McCarty. He played six seasons for New York before he was traded to the Fire during the offseason.
McCarty provided a steady influence in his first season in Chicago. He tallied five assists and logged 2,465 minutes -- his most playing time since 2014 -- to help the Fire snap their playoff drought.
The Red Bulls are coming off a 2-1 win over D.C. United in their regular season finale.
"We're in the best moment we've been all year, truly," Marsch told the team's official website. "I feel like our mentality is strong. I feel like we've gotten contributions from a lot of players. I feel like our group is really ready for a big challenge.
"That's what this is going to be: a massive challenge. A big hurdle. And if you can get through that first hurdle, you can build more momentum and give yourself a chance."
The Fire lost 3-0 on the road to the Houston Dynamo in their regular-season finale. Chicago posted a remarkable 12-2-3 record at home, compared with a 4-9-4 mark away from home.
The Red Bulls finished 5-10-2 on the road, compared with a 9-2-6 record at home.
