New York Red Bulls have the possibility of moving to the top of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference this weekend when they travel to face Chicago Fire.
The hosts find themselves in the bottom half of the table, and they come into Sunday's encounter on the back of five games without a win.
Match preview
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Chicago Fire have failed to win in their previous five games in all competitions, which has seen them slip down the table into ninth place.
It is away from home where they have struggled the most, winning just one of their four encounters, while at home they are undefeated.
Erza Hendrickson's squad have only won once in front of their own fans though, drawing the other three matches, which will bring some confidence heading into Sunday.
Chicago will be looking to get straight back to winning ways on Sunday following a heavy 3-0 loss last weekend against Minnesota United, with goals from Emanuel Reynoso, Kervin Arriaga and Robin Lod.
That defeat followed them being knocked out of the US Open Cup by Union Omaha following a penalty shootout, adding more pressure to the squad overall.
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The visitors are enjoying a lot more success at the moment, and while they have lost twice already this season, they are second in the Eastern Conference right now.
New York Red Bulls are undefeated in their previous three matches, and unlike their opponents, they were able to progress in the US Open Cup.
Last weekend Gerhard Struber's men showcased their attacking qualities with a 3-0 victory against Orlando City with goals from Luquinhas, Cristian Casseres and Lewis Morgan.
Another win on Sunday against Chicago has the possibility of moving them to the top of the division if Philadelphia Union end up dropping points.
Considering they have won all four of their away games so far this season, conceding just twice across those, there is certainly enough belief in the group to achieve that.
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Team News
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Chicago Fire will be without Federico Navarro this Sunday after he was sent off in their most recent match, which will force at least one change in this game.
This could see Jhon Espinoza come into the team, providing a more defensive setup, which is something that Hendrickson might be looking to do anyway.
New York Red Bulls head into the match with a lengthy injury list that they have to think about, with Andres Reyes and Wikelman Carmona both dealing with foot problems.
On top of that, the visitors are missing Cameron Harper due to a quad strain, Caden Clark with a knee problem, and Serge Ngoma due to a hamstring issue.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Slonina; Sekulic, Omsberg, Czichos, Navarro; Espinoza, Gimenez; Gutierrez, Shaqiri, Ivanov; Przybylko
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Carlos; Long, Nealis, Casseres; Tolkin, Amaya, Morgan, Edwards; Mosso, Luquinhas; Fletcher
We say: Chicago Fire 0-3 New York Red Bulls
Chicago Fire might not be one of the strongest teams in the MLS at the moment, but they will need to put a big effort in to try and get anything out of this game.
However, New York Red Bulls are putting together impressive performances as of late, and their attacking qualities should help them to secure the win.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chicago Fire win with a probability of 39.44%. A win for New York Red Bulls had a probability of 33.55% and a draw had a probability of 27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chicago Fire win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.83%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.38%) and 2-0 (7.08%). The likeliest New York Red Bulls win was 0-1 (9.81%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.82%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that New York Red Bulls would win this match.
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