Preview & Gamethread: Chicago vs New York City FC

TOYOTA PARK, Bridgeview, Ill.
March 6, 2015 (WEEK 1)
1 p.m. CT (CSN-Chi; YES)

Happy Opening Day everyone!

After a long, eventful offseason for the Chicago Fire, the Men in Red return with a renewed optimism against second-year club New York City FC. Both Chicago's new coach Veljko Paunovic and New York City FC rookie manager Patrick Vieira will be eager to get their first MLS victory.

Both teams will be missing big-name players as David Accam and Matt Polster are likely to sit for Chicago while Frank Lampard is not expected to take the field for New York City FC. The Fire absences especially have led to an interesting projected lineup, according to the official Chicago Fire Game Guide.

The projected lineup includes Brandon VIncent at right wing, Jonathan Campbell at left back and Drew Connor starting alongside John Goossens in the central midfield. Whether that is actually how Chicago takes the field remains to be seen, but we will have official lineups right here as soon as they are announced.

Here are some other quick notes about today's game.

REFEREE: Armando Villarreal. AR1 (bench): Corey Parker; AR2 (opposite): Peter Manikowski; 4th: Hilario Grajeda

MLS Career: 62 games; FC/gm: 22.9; Y/gm: 2.8; R: 18; pens: 16

LAST YEAR (MLS):
4/24: CHI 1, NYC 0 (Accam 20)
5/15: NYC 2, CHI 2 (Ballouchy 46+; Shelton 91+ -- Cocis 14; Larentowicz 27)

Be sure to check back here for updates and to join the conversation during the game.

Lineup Update: Matt Polster and David Accam pulled off the unexpected recovery and are starting. John Goossens did not get his work permit situation in order in time.

Here's your #cf97 Starting XI and bench presented by @UIHealth for #CHIvNYC: pic.twitter.com/eZ0isGISRy

— Chicago Fire (@ChicagoFire) March 6, 2016

The #NYCFC Starting XI vs. @ChicagoFire presented by @cocojoyusa #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/uGbRBlFhxK

— New York City FC (@NYCFC) March 6, 2016