(Sports Network) - Luckily for the Chicago Fire, they hit the road this week, traveling to Seattle to take on the expansion Sounders FC in a Major League Soccer fixture on Saturday afternoon at Qwest Field.

The Fire (7-3-7) are currently atop the Eastern Conference table with 28 points, but have just two wins on their home field. They do, however, own the best road record in the league at 5-1-3.

Chicago has won two of its last three, including a 2-0 victory vs. San Jose this past Saturday thanks to a goal and an assist from veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who played the final 30 minutes of the match after playing 90 in a midweek fixture.

"He was ready to start," Chicago coach Denis Hamlett said of Blanco. "But he said he had a bit of a hamstring, and I felt he was better to have in the second half. We needed more urgency to go forward. We needed a little more energy."

Fire goalkeeper also Jon Busch recorded his fifth shutout of the season, making four saves in the win.

"It was a great team effort - we've been playing well at home but not finishing our chances," he said. "We finished two chances [vs. San Jose], and that's the difference. ... Defensively, I thought we played very well. Every guy was working hard and it was a team effort."

Seattle, which owns an identical 7-3-7 record, is currently second in the Western table, behind Houston, which it beat 2-1 in its last MLS match on July 11.

Sounders attacker Fredy Montero had a goal while also assisting on Nate Jaqua's tally in the win.

"I told Fredy three weeks ago that he has to be, and I demanded this from him, he has to be Nate Jaqua's best friend," said Sounders FC assistant Brian Schmetzer. "I wanted them to play together. I think in the first half Montero was a little too far away from Nate at times. We talked about that at halftime and the second we did a little better."

Seattle will be without defender Taylor Graham and midfielder Michael Fucito because of injury on Saturday, while midfielder Brad Evans will be absent on international duty. Defender Patrick Ianni is also listed as probable on the team's injury report.

The Fire will be without star forward Brian McBride because of shoulder surgery this past week, while defenders Gonzalo Segares and Logan Pause are out with injuries. Central defender Bakary Soumare is also out because of suspension, while midfielder Marco Pappa is probable with a knee sprain.



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