FRISCO – FC Dallas plays its second game in a stretch of three in nine days on Thursday night (7:30 p.m., FCDallas.com) against the Chicago Fire in Bridgeview, Illinois. Here are some things to keep in mind as you get ready for the match:
Hittin' The Road
FC Dallas' run to the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League semifinals meant the club hasn't played as many games as its fellow MLS teams. Dallas has played the fewest MLS games (10) of any team in the league and listed for the fewest road matches (4) with D.C. United. FC Dallas remains the only MLS side yet to lose away from home this season with a 2-0-2 record.
Raging Fire
Chicago enters Thursday’s game unbeaten in its last four matches and having won its last three. The Fire sit second in the Eastern Conference with 21 points and have yet to taste defeat at home this season, posting a 5-0-1 mark at Toyota Park. Chicago averages 1.75 points per game, good enough for third-best in the league behind FC Dallas (1.9) and Toronto FC (2).
Big Time Addition
Chicago forward Nemanja Nikolic has passed all the tests so far in his first MLS season. Acquired this past offseason from Polish club Legia Warsaw, Nikolic signed a three-year deal as a designated player and hasn’t disappointed. He leads the league with 10 goals scored in 12 matches this season, with five goals coming during Chicago’s recent unbeaten spell.
Millennium Milestones
FC Dallas is approaching a pair of milestones in both goals and assists. The next assist on an FC Dallas goal will be the 1,000th assist in the history of the franchise. This would put Dallas alongside the Columbus Crew, D.C. United, L.A. Galaxy and New York Red Bulls as the only franchises to hit at least 1,000 assists. Dallas also sits on 994 goals in team history, six away from the millennium mark.
Defending the Brimstone Cup
For the first time since 2012, FC Dallas enters an MLS season with possession of the Brimstone Cup. Created in 2001 by the fans of the Chicago Fire and FC Dallas, the trophy is awarded to the team who earns the most points from the meetings between Chicago and Dallas in a single season. This includes MLS regular season, MLS Cup Playoffs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches. Dallas held possession of the cup from 2002 to 2012, before reclaiming it last season with a 3-1 win at Toyota Stadium. This will be the only MLS regular season meeting between the clubs in 2017.
