The Fire are back on the Chicago lakefront tonight, hosting D.C. United at Soldier Field (6:30 p.m. CT, WGN & ESPN+). D.C., which is currently the worst team in MLS on 11 points, figures to be a good opportunity for the Fire to pick up three points, and climb back into a playoff spot. But with Chad Ashton in charge after Ben Olsen was fired this week, the Fire know they could be facing a team getting a “new manager bounce.”
“I think anytime a team makes a coaching change, a player’s gonna want to make a good first impression with the new manager, and try to work themselves into a starting position,” Bobby Shuttleworth said in a video released by the Fire.