Rapids, Fire renew rivalry for first time since 2019 with playoff stakes

Morgan Whittaker's versatility has helped him rediscover his scoring touch just in time for the Colorado Rapids, who host the Chicago Fire on Saturday in Commerce City, Colo.

The Rapids (12-13-7, 43 points) tied San Jose 2-2 on Wednesday. Whittaker and Darren Yapi each scored. Colorado is unbeaten in its past 10 home matches (7-0-3) and enters its regular-season home finale in seventh place in the Western Conference.

Whittaker has found the back of the net in consecutive matches and has four goals since being acquired from EFL Championship side Middlesbrough FC on Sept. 4.

"We are doing a good job as a coaching staff in terms of changing (Whittaker's) position," Colorado coach Matt Wells said. "We're making him unpredictable to the opponent ... it would be impossible to pin down where he's going to play because even I don't know."

Colorado defender Kosi Thompson was shown a red card and won't be available against the Fire.

The Rapids are unbeaten in their last five matches (1-0-4) and earned a point after conceding first for the first time this season. Seattle is level with Colorado on 43 points, with Real Salt Lake (42), the Los Angeles Galaxy (41) and Minnesota United (38) also pursuing postseason berths. All four clubs have two regular-season matches remaining.

While Chicago (15-10-7, 52 points) has already secured a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, it is playing to strengthen its hold on fourth place and home-field advantage in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

The Fire also earned a point in their last match, a 2-2 home draw against Orlando City on Wednesday. Chicago rallied from a 2-0 first-half deficit as Jonathan Bamba and Maren Haile-Selassie each tallied a goal after halftime.

Hugo Cuypers leads the team with 13 goals, while Haile-Selassie has contributed 12 goals and 10 assists. Haile-Selassie wants his club to tighten up its defensive approach.

"Defensively we have to be more focused," Haile-Selassie said. "We can't leave (opponents) so much space from behind."

The teams are meeting for the first time since April 20, 2019, marking the longest gap between meetings with any current MLS opponent in Chicago Fire history.

--Field Level Media