We’ve been waiting a while to say this: It’s a Chicago Fire match day! The Fire visit the MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders today at 2 p.m. First, the bad news: The Fire have never won an MLS match in Seattle. But, the Sounders played and lost a grueling Concacaf Champions League match Thursday night against Olimpia, and the team might be emotional after unveiling the 2019 MLS Cup banner before today’s match, so maybe the Fire are catching the champs at a good time.

The Fire are still without several new international signings who have yet to officially join the team—Gastón Giménez, Ignacio Aliseda, Luka Stojanović, and Boris Sekulić. CJ Sapong is officially listed as questionable for today’s match, according to the the Fire. Nicolas Lodeiro is out for Seattle.

It’s also Raphael Wicky’s first match as an MLS head coach. All preseason, he’s been preaching compact defending and hard work, especially after losing the ball, but we’ll finally get to see what he’s really like as an in-match coach today. In case you missed it, we did a lengthy interview with Wicky earlier this week. He’s a fascinating guy. Check it out.

Some quick notes:

• The Fire announced yesterday the club has renewed its partnership with Univision Radio, so you can listen to today’s match en español on WRTO AM 1200.
• Look for bit of good Chicago Fire news to be announced later this morning.
• Check out the match preview from a Seattle perspective from our friends at Sounder at Heart.

Seattle Sounders vs. Chicago Fire

Sunday, March 1, 2020

MLS Match 1 | CenturyLink Field, Seattle. Wash.

Kickoff: 2 p.m. CT

TV: ESPN (that’s the big network, not ESPN+)

Streaming: ESPN 3 (cable/satellite subscription required)

Radio: Univision Radio WRTO AM 1200

Live Twitter Updates: @HotTimeOldTown (from Ruben)

Next Up:

MLS Regular Season Match 2: New England Revolution vs. Chicago Fire | Saturday, March 7, 12:30 p.m. CT | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass. | TV: WGN, Streaming: ESPN+, Radio: Univision Radio WRTO AM 1200