The Philadelphia Union and Chicago Fire are playing live on the MLS schedule on Thursday night and the game is live on ESPN2 and streaming from the WatchESPN website as these two eastern conference teams matchup from PPL Park in Chester and the matchup starts at 8 pm ET and comes as the home stretch of the Major League Soccer season is coming towards the playoffs.

The two teams are both chasing the playoffs in the east and as the schedule winds down, the teams are looking for points and Philly knows how close the standings can get late. The Union come into the game at seventh on the east table and they are two spots down from the last playoffs spot and they are three points below where they want to be after losing their last game against DC United. The Fire have a long shot, but if they win after losing to the Houston Dynamo this weekend, they have a chance to move up from the ninth spot.

The Eastern Conference standings has DC United leading everyone and the next two are tied on points with New England and Sporting Kansas City. The east standings have tough teams at the top and past Sporting is Columbus, who are just two points back, while the NY Red Bulls are in the last playoff spot and they are hanging on close. NY is up one on Toronto, while Philly is in seventh and they are just three points out and two above Houston on the table.

These two teams are meeting on the schedule for the third time this season and it comes after the Union had a draw with the fire at Toyota Park earlier in the season and another draw after that. The Fire have won the matchup at PPL in each of the last two seasons and the Union are looking to take points again from a matchup with Chicago. The two teams need points here to stay alive in the playoff race, as the east is getting tight.

Check here for the Philadelphia Union and Chicago Fire live coverage.