With a road-heavy stretch coming up, the Chicago Fire will likely need to end their lengthy winless streak away from home to have a chance of reaching the playoffs.
A matchup with a scuffling Orlando City on Saturday night might give them just the opportunity to end that drought.
Chicago (7-13-5) hasn't won on the road since edging New England 1-0 on July 12, 2014. The Fire are 0-13-6 away from home in league play since that game and haven't won in 21 straight across all competitions.
The Fire will get plenty of chances to end that streak in the near future as they'll play five of their next six games on the road, including the next three. The lone home game is against Orlando City (7-12-7) on Sept. 19.
Chicago, two points out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference, will bring a red-hot Kennedy Igboananike into that stretch. The forward tallied two goals for the second time in three games in a 3-2 win over the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday.
Igboananike's tiebreaking score in the 73rd minute allowed the Fire to end an 0-2-1 skid in league play.
"We just have to keep going," he told the Fire's official website. "We're never going to quit playing. We're just going to keep going. Even if we are down a goal, we're just going to keep going."
The Fire will next take on a team that's winless in its last four games, hasn't scored a goal in a franchise-worst three in a row and has been outscored 9-0 in its past two. Orlando City also dropped to 1-6-2 in its last nine MLS contests with a 5-0 loss to Toronto FC last Saturday.
Despite its recent woes, the expansion club is tied on points for the final playoff spot in the East but has one fewer win than sixth-place Montreal.
"I think it's a case that we all have to step up, and if we do, we're still going to be in there fighting," coach Adrian Heath said. "When I look back at previous results, everybody was at the top of their game and in good form, and at this moment in time, we need to work at getting there again."
Orlando City won 3-2 in its first meeting with the Fire on June 6 with Chicago giving a pair of own goals. Cyle Larin tallied one of his team-best 11 scores for Orlando, and Igboananike had one of his six goals in that game.
Igboananike found the net twice in the final three minutes of regulation in a 3-1 win against Orlando in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals July 22. Larin scored the lone goal for Orlando City.
Orlando's Rafael Ramos and Adrian Winter are suspended for this match after receiving red cards in last week's loss.
