Having seen their run of two consecutive victories come to an end last time out, Chicago Fire will be targeting an immediate return to winning ways when they welcome Atlanta United to Soldier Field on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the away side set out to record back to back wins for the first time in two months off the back of snapping a four-game losing streak across all competitions.
Match preview
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Chicago Fire were beaten away from home once again in a 2-1 loss against Charlotte FC when the teams faced off at the Bank of America Stadium on Thursday.
Frank Klopas's men took the lead just shy of the half-hour mark through Kacper Przybylko before a second-half double from Brandon Cambridge turned the game on its head.
As a result, The Men in Red remain 13th in the Eastern Conference of the MLS table, four points adrift of the last playoff spot having played one match fewer.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have enjoyed the better of this fixture of late, winning three of the last five meetings while suffering only one defeat in that time.
Unbeaten in 10 straight matches in front of their fans leading up to this weekend's affair, Sunday's hosts have established themselves as a real force to reckon with on their own patch.
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Atlanta United recorded arguably their most impressive win of the season by comprehensively thrashing Colorado Rapids 4-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday.
Thiago Almada opened the scoring 29 minutes in to put Gonzalo Pineda's men on course for victory before Luiz Araujo, Tyler Wolff and Georgios Giakoumakis sealed the deal in the second period.
Despite picking up just three of the last 12 points available, the Five Stripes sit fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, albeit now six points adrift of top spot.
Currently with the second-worst defensive record on the road, Sunday's visitors will need to tighten up at the back in their quest to secure a first away win since March.
Team News
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Osvaldo Alonso and Brad Guzan are currently down with long-term knee problems and neither will play any part for Atlanta United in this one.
The visitors will also be without the services of Erik Lopez and Amar Sejdic, but the latter is not far off making his return to action from a knock.
Andrew Gutman missed his side's win over Colorado Rapids through suspension, and the 26-year-old is not eligible to participate this weekend either.
American duo Victor Bezerra and Jonathan Dean are Chicago Fire's only absentees here as they remain unavailable through leg and ankle injuries respectively.
Finding the back of the net in two of his last three starts, Kacper Przybylko will be expected to retain his place in the XI at the expense of Kei Kamara.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Navarro, Czichos, Pineda, Souquet; Gimenez, Navarro; Gutierrez, Shaqiri, Haile-Selassie; Przybylko
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Westberg; Hernandez, Sanchez, Robinson, Lennon; Sosa, Rossetto; Araujo, Almada, Etienne; Berry
We say: Chicago Fire 2-1 Atlanta United
With the two most porous teams in the MLS going head-to-head, we are anticipating an exciting affair and goals at both ends. That said, we just about fancy Chicago Fire to come out on top in the end.
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