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Game: Philadelphia Union vs. Chicago Fire
Date: Thursday, February 9th, 2017
Time: 1:00 PM Eastern, 12:00 PM Central
Venue: IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.
Streaming: http://live.imgacademytv.com/
NOTE: All viewers must register for a FREE account to watch the IMG Academy stream.
The Philadelphia Union will take on conference rival Chicago Fire today in a preseason match, and while the Union have already had two friendlies (1-1 Draw against D.C. United and a 5-3 win over the United States U16 National Team) this match will be the first streamed game of 2017. Both of these teams have yet to have a streamed preseason game, so the shape and personnel of the two clubs is unknown.
I would expect to see a lot of new players getting a chance to play for the Union today, so one should expect to see Jay Simpson, Fafa Picault, Oguchi Onyewu, Marcus Epps and newest signing Adem Najem to see some playing time, whether as starters or as substitutes. I also am not going into this game with high expectations, the team is still coming together and some players only just got to camp less than a week ago. I would say this will probably end in a tie or a Union win, but regardless it will be good to get a look at the players.