Charlotte FC will be aiming to record their fourth successive victory in all competitions when they host Chicago Fire in MLS on Wednesday.
Chicago, meanwhile, head into this encounter off the back of two wins against St Louis within the past week.
Match preview
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After finishing ninth in their first season after becoming the MLS' 28th franchise club, Charlotte will be aiming to kick on and qualify for the playoffs for the first time in their history this time around.
Former New York City FC and Nice assistant manager Christian Lattanzio has been retained as the club's head coach, with the 51-year-old beginning to find his groove after guiding The Crown to three consecutive wins in recent weeks.
After Justin Meram had fired his side into an early 1-0 lead away to Atlanta United over the weekend, Charlotte capitalised on Andrew Gutman's 51st-mintue dismissal, with Karol Swiderski's dispatching his penalty and Meram sealing his brace before the hour mark.
As such, only goal difference is keeping Charlotte outside of the Eastern Conference's playoff spots ahead of them hosting Chicago Fire in midweek, but they will need to maintain their excellent form of late if they are to compete for them towards the latter stages of the season.
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Chicago Fire, on the other hand, made the decision to part ways with their manager Ezra Hendrickson earlier this month, with the 51-year-old departing the club with a disappointing win rate of 28.26% from his 46 games in charge since being appointed in November 2021.
Frank Klopas, who made 45 league appearances for The Fire as a player before managing them between 2011 and 2013, has been drafted in as interim manager for the second time in recent years, and the former AEK Athens forward has made an instant impact during his first week in charge.
St Louis were comfortably dispatched 2-1 in the US Open Cup last week, with Miguel Perez's 93rd-minute strike amounting to no more than a consolation effort for Chicago Fire's opponents, before Rafael Czichos's strike downed the same side in the MLS across the weekend.
Having failed to qualify for the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, Chicago Fire have clearly fallen a long way since the days of their domestic double in 1998, but they will hope to see small shoots of recovery with Klopas's guidance across the coming weeks.
Team News
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Charlotte appear set to remain without George Marks, Kerwin Vargas, Bill Tuiloma, Joseph Mora and Guzman Corujo through injury, with none of the quintet likely to return to action until next month.
Having won emphatically away to Atlanta in their last match, Lattanzio is unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI, which will include former Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood.
Chicago Fire, meanwhile, will likely travel without Victor Bezerra (leg) and Justin Reynolds (ankle), but the duo should return to first-team training within the next couple of weeks.
Like his forthcoming counterpart, Klopas may elect to choose the same starting XI that helped his team return to winning ways in MLS at the weekend, with much of the visitors' creative burden set to fall on Switzerland midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri's broad shoulders.
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahlina; Lindsey, Malanda, Sobocinski, Byrne; Westwood, Bronico, Bender; Jozwiak, Swiderski, Meram
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Souquet, Teran, Pineda, M Navarro; F Navarro, Gimenez; Herbers, Shaqiri, Gutierrez; Kamara
We say: Charlotte FC 1-1 Chicago Fire
Both teams will have taken plenty of confidence from their recent victories, as they look to claim a positive result and return to the playoff positions.
Both teams possess some highly talented individuals, and we can envisage a share of the spoils being played out at the Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday.
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Brett Curtis
