Chicago (6-3-1) at Dallas (3-5-4), 3 p.m.

Frisco, TX (Sports Network) - FC Dallas and the Chicago Fire will meet for the first time this season when they square off at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday afternoon in Major League Soccer action.

Both teams are coming off losses, with the Fire falling at home to D.C. United while FC Dallas is coming off consecutive 2-1 losses on the road, the most recent being at New England.

"They got two goals in the first half, but we fought hard in the second half. We were organized; tactically we might have been a little bit better," FC Dallas coach Marco Ferruzzi said. "The boys put everything they had into it. I think in the second half we had New England on their heels, and we might have been able to end up in a tie, but Matt Reis made some fantastic saves that kept them in the game. That was the difference."

The Hoops, who are reportedly close to naming a permanent head coach to replace the fired Steve Morrow, need to get a positive result Sunday after recording just one win in the last eight league matches, with six losses in that span.

"We're in a tough spot right now trying to get into our form, working very hard," Ferruzzi said. "We came back in the second half [in the loss to New England] and had a great effort. We've got a long season to play. The boys are committed and we're going to move forward."

The Fire, on the other hand, are in good shape, in second in the Eastern Conference table even with the home loss last week. The good news for them is Sunday's match in on the road, where they have proven to be a much better team than at home this season. They are 4-0-1 on the road and just 2-3 at home.

"The good news is that we have a road game [at FC Dallas]," Fire forward Chad Barrett told the Chicago Tribune after the loss to D.C. "We'll probably win 5-1."

Both teams will be without key defenders on Sunday with FC Dallas missing Adrian Serioux and the Fire missing Gonzalo Segares, both because of international duty. The Fire will also be without defender Brandon Prideaux because of a suspension.