After ending a five-match winless run in all competitions last weekend, it will be a quick turnaround for Toronto, who play host to the Chicago Fire at BMO Field on Wednesday.
The Reds held off a late charge by DC United to win 2-1 in their previous MLS encounter, while Chicago squandered a second-half advantage, drawing the New England Revolution 3-3.
Match preview
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For now, the heat is off Bob Bradley as the TFC boss was under heavy scrutiny from all sides during the Reds' four-match MLS losing run.
On Saturday, they put their differences aside for 90 minutes with numerous players stepping up to have a big game, according to their coach.
Before that victory, Toronto had gone without a goal in three straight domestic affairs, scoring multiple strikes for the first time since the middle of April.
The Reds have only lost once in eight domestic home fixtures this season, though they have dropped four points when leading in the second half this year at BMO Field.
While they have struggled to put games to bed throughout the year, TFC have never lost when scoring the opening goal, winning their last two matches after doing exactly that.
Their quality at home versus Chicago has been exceptional throughout the past few seasons, scoring 19 goals in their previous six matches played against them in Toronto and without a defeat to the Fire at BMO Field since 2012.
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A week after rescuing a point in the latter stages versus Atlanta United (3-3), the shoe was on the other foot for the Fire in New England last weekend as they conceded the equalising goal five minutes after going in front.
That was the second time in their last three domestic encounters under interim boss Frank Klopas that they failed to win after going up 1-0, while they have now conceded eight goals beyond the 75th minute this year in seven fixtures.
Since Klopas took charge earlier this month, the Fire have suffered only one defeat in six matches, beating Austin FC 2-0 at the US Open Cup last Wednesday, their first road victory in any competitive fixture since a 3-2 win at Inter Miami in late March.
That US Open Cup triumph against Austin was the only time in 2023 that Chicago had not conceded on the road, while they have given up multiple strikes in four successive MLS encounters away from home.
As we have become accustomed to saying over the past few years, Chicago find themselves outside the playoff picture at the moment, though their 16 points so far is five more than they accumulated at this same stage a year ago.
The Fire have been feeble defensively at BMO of late, conceding three goals in five of their last six trips there, including their previous match when they squandered a 2-1 lead, giving up two in the final 20 minutes and losing 3-2.
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Team News
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After indirectly calling out his coach earlier this month, Federico Bernardeschi was dropped from the Toronto squad on Saturday, with Bob Bradley calling it a coach's decision, while Victor Vazquez, Sigurd Rosted, Jonathan Osorio, Shane O'Neill, Adama Diomande, Alonso Coello Camarero and Michael Bradley were all missing over the weekend with lower body injuries.
Deandre Kerr and Kosi Thompson found the mark for the Reds versus DC, with the latter scoring his first of the campaign, while Lorenzo Insigne played a big part in the victory, assisting on both goals, winning seven duels and making four key passes.
Kerr also scored when they last hosted Chicago in the regular season, with former midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo notching a second-half brace in that narrow victory from 2022.
The Fire were missing several regulars on Saturday against the Revs, with Jonathan Dean (upper leg), Carlos Teran (right knee), Justin Reynolds (left upper leg), Chris Mueller (hip), Sergio Oregel (right lower leg) and Victor Bezerra (left upper leg) all sidelined with injuries, while Federico Navarro and Fabian Herbers were both suspended.
In his first-ever MLS start, Georgios Koutsias scored for just the second time in a Fire uniform, with an own-goal from Andrew Farrell putting them up by two and Maren Haile-Selassie scoring his third of this competition, while fellow Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri collected an assist for the third match running.
Jairo Torres was back in the starting 11 for Chicago, his first appearance since leaving their match against New York City FC due to a first-half injury, Kei Kamara picked up his first assist as a member of the Fire and Chris Brady made his 12th start between the sticks, conceding six goals in his last two domestic affairs.
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Laryea, Hedges, Mabika, Franklin; Thompson, Kaye, Antonoglou; Kerr, Akinola, Insigne
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Teran, Pineda, Czichos, Aceves; Haile-Selassie, F. Navarro, Gimenez; Shaqiri; Przybylko, Kamara
We say: Toronto 3-2 Chicago Fire
When these sides square off, it tends to be a high-scoring affair, as they have each found the back of the net in five of their previous six meetings.
The deciding factor in this one for us will be Sean Johnson, who has not had much help from his backline but has made big saves when called upon, whereas Brady in the Chicago goal has been poor throughout the campaign.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
