The Black-and-Red kick off their crucial month of October with a home match against the Chicago Fire—the only team United face more than once prior to the conclusion of the regular season. United impressed with a 5-0 rout of the Montreal Impact on Saturday, helping keep their postseason hopes alive and well, but the Fire are coming off of a major win of their own: a 3-1 upset over LAFC last weekend.
Sunday's matchup could produce a number of significant milestones for Black-and-Red players, the biggest surrounding Luciano Acosta. Acosta, who was named both the MLS Player of the Week and the MLS Player of September this week, needs one more goal to eclipse the 10+ goals and assists mark for the season. The midfielder would be only the fifth player in club history to reach the 10 and 10 mark in a season, and the first player to do so in 10 years. Should Acosta replicate last Saturday's performance with another three-assist match, he would tie Marco Etcheverry's single-season assist record of 16. Sunday also holds the potential to push United over the playoff line—a Montreal loss to the Crew on Saturday, and a D.C. win over the Fire, would mean United sliding into the sixth-place spot in the East.
While the Fire have been eliminated from playoff contention, they continue to play for pride, and are playing with nothing to lose. Their recent positive results have perhaps come from an alleviation of postseason pressure, and their 2-1-2 record in their last five matches has been one of their best strings of the season.
Striker Nemanja Nikolić and midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger lead the way for Chicago, as Nikolić has scored 15 times this season and Schweinsteiger leads the club in assists with six. Nikolić has been especially dangerous as of late, scoring five goals in the last six matches. Schweinsteiger and Wayne Rooney will also meet for the first time in Major League Soccer and for the first time since Schweinstieger departed Manchester United to join Chicago. The icons have had two of the most successful international careers of all-time between Manchester United, Everton, and the England National Team (Rooney), and Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and the German National Team (Schweinsteiger).
Luciano Acosta has been on fire for the Black-and-Red recently, and will look to maintain his dominant form this weekend, but United's back line is also coming off of an important performance, earning their second shutout at Audi Field on Saturday. Adjustments will have to be made against the Fire, though, as defender Oniel Fisher suffered a season-ending injury against Montreal. United now must move forward with a "next man up" mentality—fans could see Jalen Robinson, Nick DeLeon, or newcomer Kevin Ellis get the starting nod on Saturday, or Paul Arriola drop back, as he did once before this season. The back line has proved they're capable of adjusting, though—last weekend Frédéric Brillant filled in for an injured Kofi Opare and was part of the clean sheet performance.
The pressure is on for each October match as United attempt to complete their playoff push, but the team and coaching staff are focused on taking things one game at a time. With the support of the Black-and-Red faithful and home-field advantage on their side, United look to start the regular season's final month on a high note this Sunday at 1 PM ET.
