The first meeting between the Fire and New York City FC on July 22 ended with NYC earning all three points in a 2-1 win while playing a man down for 78 minutes.
That was the beginning of the Fire's two-month run of bad form with teams figuring out that they could be shut down by dropping numbers behind the ball, clogging the middle of the field, and playing the counter.
The Fire played that match without Dax McCarty while he was away with the U.S. Men's National Team and they'll likely be at less than full strength in this rematch, at least to begin the game.