Still licking their wounds from a humiliating 7-2 loss at the hands of Nashville, Chicago Fire go head to head with Orlando City at Soldier Field on Saturday night.
While the home sides have struggled to get going of late, the Lions head into the weekend unbeaten in each of their last seven matches and will look to extend this solid run of form.
Match preview
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Chicago Fire were on the wrong end of a nine-goal thriller against Nashville last Sunday as they suffered a 7-2 loss against the Boys in Gold to record one of their biggest defeats in club history.
Sam Surridge put on a show at the Geodis Park as he netted four goals, setting a record for most goals in a match for Nashville, while Hany Mukhtar struck twice and Jeisson Palacios added to the scoresheet in a record-breaking team display.
With that result, Chicago Fire have failed to taste victory in each of their last five games, losing three and claiming two draws, having picked up wins over FC Dallas, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps in the three matches preceding this run.
While the goal for Gregg Berhalter's men this season is to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017, they have managed just 12 points from their opening 10 games to sit 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, two points off ninth-placed New York City FC.
Breaching opposing defences has not been a worry for Chicago Fire, who have made the net ripple 18 times in the league this season, but they have already conceded 22 goals — the most of all 30 teams in the league.
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On the other hand, Orlando City turned in an attacking show of class last time out as they eased to a 3-0 victory over Atlanta United when the two sides squared off at the Exploria Stadium.
Experienced striker Luis Muriel broke the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute to put the hosts in front before Alexander Freeman and Marco Pasalic hit the target in the second half to make sure of the result.
Orlando City have now gone seven back-to-back games without defeat, claiming three wins and four draws since a 2-1 defeat against New York City FC on March 9 — their longest unbeaten streak since picking up six wins and one draw between July and August 2024.
With 16 points from their first 10 MLS matches this season, Oscar Pareja's men are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference standings but could move level on points with third-placed Philadelphia Union with a win on Sunday.
Orlando will be backing themselves to get the job done this weekend as they take on an opposing side who have failed to win any of their most recent seven meetings, losing five and claiming two draws since August 2021.
Team News
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Chicago Fire will take to the pitch without several players down the spine of the team as Chase Gasper, David Poreba and Colombian defender Carlos Teran continue their spells on the sidelines.
Rominigue Kouame has missed the last two games since coming off injured against Inter Miami on April 13 and the 28-year-old midfielder is out of contention for the hosts.
As for Orlando, Pareja will be unable to call upon the services of 30-year-old midfielder Wilder Cartagena, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines through an Achilles tendon injury.
He is joined on the club's injury table by the duo of Yutaro Tsukada and 19-year-old Favian Loyola, who have been ruled out through knee and thigh problems respectively.
Uruguayan midfielder Cesar Araujo has missed each of the last four matches after picking up an injury against Los Angeles Galaxy in March and the 24-year-old will play no part in this weekend's clash.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Glasgow, Rogers, Elliott, Gutman; Acosta, Pineda; Zinckernagel, Gutierrez, Bamba; Cuypers
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Schlegel, Jansson, Brekalo, Freeman; Atuesta, Smith, Angulo, Pasalic; Muriel, McGuire
We say: Chicago Fire 1-2 Orlando City
Reeling from their humbling loss against Nashville, Chicago Fire will head into the weekend looking to stop the rot and restore some pride. However, Orlando have been tough to crack this season, and given their recent performance in this fixture, we fancy them to come away with all three points here, albeit by the odd goal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
