Twenty-three shots. One goal.

That was the shots to goal line last week in the draw with Vancouver. I know you’re probably sick of hearing about such inefficiency. I’m certainly sick of typing it. And yet, it still is stuck in my craw. Aside from zero shot games, a game like that quite possibly the worst possible situation for a forward corps. It is, in a way more embarrassing than a lack of shots, because with a game like that, you can at least say that “the defense was so smothering there were no shot opportunities” ... even if that’s a lie.

Here? There’s nowhere to hide. Not only did you find shot opportunities, you found 23 of them. Twenty three looks where you thought it was good enough to have a go at putting the ball into the ol’ onion bag. And you only scored once. On a penalty. Not even from the run of play.

The bright side? The fire haven’t picked up an L in three games, and luckily, the schedule isn’t exactly what you would call tough at the moment. Lets hope they can get it together against another poor performing team with a high negative goal differential.

Chicago Fire all-time MLS record vs Colorado Rapids: 19W-10D-14L, 68 GF / 54 GA, 67 pts out of 129

Chicago Fire home MLS record vs Colorado Rapids: 16W-2D-4L, 45 GF / 20 GA, 50 pts out of 66

Previously on…

A 4-1 loss to Houston, 4-3 loss to Orlando City, and a 3-2 loss to DC United. I don’t know if you could come into the game from a worse spot.

Suggested Lineup

As of Thursday, Przemysław Frankowski is still listed as out with a groin injury,

Mo Adams feels a little unnecessary so he should come off the bench to park the bus later in the game.

Keys To The Match

Do Not Underestimate Colorado: To say Colorado is in poor form would be a huge understatement. They have no wins and two draws out of seven games played. They have a goal differential of -8 and are only eclipsed by the Portland Timbers, who won’t play a home match until June 1st. However, don’t let this fool you. They have good pieces. Benny Feilhaber and Kellyn Acosta are legitimate star quality players, And Andre Shinyashiki is a young stud. Do not walk into this thinking that you’re going to roll them over.

Relentless Attack: The pressure must be constant. it must e all consuming. Do not allow the Rapids any room to breathe. When they get the ball, press high and hard to win it back. Play with a high tempo and pressure the ghost of Tim Howard into making mistakes.

Finish Your Chances: This one seems self explanatory. Put the ball in the back of the net. Colorado has given up elevent goals in their last three games, so it shouldn’t be too hard to put a big crooked number on the board..... yeeeeeeeees.

How To Watch

Television: N/A

Streaming: ESPN+

Final Thoughts

Despite Colorado’s poor performances of late, this game is going to be tough. Don’t think otherwise.

I said on the podcast that it would be a scoreless draw, and I was mostly trolling. The real prediction is a 3-2 Fire win.

How do you think the game will turn out? Let us know in the comments below!