Fire ready to resume play

After an unusual 20-day early season break, the Chicago Fire is more than ready to play another match Friday night.

"Obviously, we're excited to get back on the field," right back Eric Gehrig said after a spirited, light training session Thursday. "Another home game is very important. The guys are hungry.

"We've been training hard. We've been going at each other for a while now. It's nice to get another game in. Different opposition."

"It's been a weird three weeks," coach Frank Yallop added, "but I'm really pleased with the practices and the spirit we've got. We're hoping we come out tomorrow and we play well and win."

The Fire will get its first look at expansion side New York City FC (7 p.m. Friday, Univision). The Fire is expecing a near-capacity crowd at Toyota Park.

"It's a team that's hungry," Gehrig said. "They haven't won in (five) games. They've had a lot of games this week. They're going to come out eager to get some points."

Yallop isn't cutting NYCFC any slack for being an expansion team.

"Not at all. We're nearly an expansion team with all the changes we've made. We've got a bunch of guys that are brand new as well. So that's never an excuse for any team to say that. They've spent a lot of money. They've had a year to set it up. The days of that are gone. They're ready to go. They've played pretty well this year, not had the results," he said.

Neither Yallop nor Gehrig is worried about the Fire looking rusty after the long layoff. Injuries, however, will be a factor for both teams. Michael Stephens isn't likely to play for the Fire, and Quincy Amarikwa might have to work his way back into the starting lineup.

NYCFC has an even longer list of injured players, topped by Spanish forward David Villa, who has a strained hamstring.

Follow Orrin on Twitter @Orrin_Schwarz