The Hounds head back to Chicago for their home opener on Sunday night after picking up a comfortable win over Anthem in Charlotte last weekend. Arriving from the West Coast are the California Legion, who recovered from their shock season opener loss with a blowout win over the defending champion Free Jacks in San Diego. Fans will be eyeing this as a potential playoff match-up down the road.
| IN | OUT | |
| 1 | Faka’osi Pifeleti | Jake Turnbull |
| 11 | Jason Tidwell | Noah Brown |
 |
IN | OUT |
| n/a | n/a |
- Injured / unavailable – (Hounds) Malcolm May, Noah Brown; (Legion) none
- Chris Latham has made only two changes to Chicago’s match day squad… both are in the starting lineup… loosehead prop Oti Pifeleti gets his first appearance of the season, while former Dallas Jackals and Anthem winger Jason Tidwell is set to make his club debut
- Steve Hoiles has a full squad to pick from but has opted for no changes to the 23
The Windy City will live up to its name with gusty and wet conditions expected. That certainly plays into the hands of the larger and more physical Chicago pack. California will be feeling much better about themselves after the big win over a sloppy New England side, but the Hounds look to be a clear step up at this early stage of the campaign. Chicago are favorites at home in Bridgeview.
CHICAGO HOUNDS
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Theo Fourie, 3 Charlie Abel, 4 Tomás Casares, 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Maclean Jones, 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Chris Hilsenbeck, 11 Jason Tidwell, 12 Ollie Devoto, 13 Tavite Lopeti, 14 Mark O’Keeffe, 15 Brock Webster
Replacements: 16 Jackson Zabierek, 17 Luke White, 18 Koby Baker, 19 Brandon Harvey, 20 Jake Kinneeveauk, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Reece Botha, 23 Santiago Videla
Replacements: 16 Ramiro Gurovich, 17 Alessandro Heaney, 18 Oliver Kane, 19 Will Sherman, 20 Baden Godfrey, 21 Ishy Safodien, 22 Marques Fuala’au, 23 Erich Storti
CALIFORNIA LEGION
1 Ma’ake Muti, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Keni Nasoqeqe, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Lance Williams, 7 Christian Poidevin, 8 Ed Timpson, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Coby Miln, 11 Ryan James, 12 Billy Meakes, 13 Cole Semu, 14 Joe Mano, 15 Rory van Vugt
Replacements: 16 Ben Sugars, 17 Declan Leaney, 18 Justus Tavai, 19 Ronan Murphy, 20 Chase Jones, 21 Steffan Crimp, 22 Tas Smith, 23 Cassh Maluia
Date: Sunday, April 12
Venue: SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview
Kickoff: 20:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy with showers, 66°F (19°C), wind SW 18-28 mph (30-45 km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN 2 / ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports (International), Game TV+ (YouTube)
Referee: Luke Rogan (USA)
Assistants: Derek Summers (USA) & Chris Assmus (Canada)
TMO: n/a
HEAD-TO-HEAD (0) – n/a