Two teams at opposite ends of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference will meet on Sunday when Chicago Fire welcome FC Cincinnati to Soldier Field.
The hosts are currently second bottom of the league after winning just two games, meanwhile the visitors are undefeated in their previous three matches in the division.
Match preview
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Chicago Fire have won just two of their 10 MLS fixtures so far this season, which has left them second-bottom in the Eastern Conference at the moment.
They only sit above Inter Miami because of goal difference, putting extra pressure on this match as a defeat could slump to the foot of the division.
The Fire Men In Red have failed to win in their previous six outings across all competitions, which has been a period where the squad have dealt with disciplinary problems.
Chicago have had three red cards in that period, which has added further difficulties to Ezra Hendrickson when it comes to selecting his teams for each game.
Their most recent outings ended in a 4-1 defeat against Atlanta United, and the squad will now be pushing to improve their fortunes with only their second home win of the season.
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FC Cincinnati have been performing well in the MLS as of late, as they have won their previous three matches, conceding just a single goal in that period.
However, their recent defensive qualities were turned upside down in their most recent outing in the U.S. Open Cup as they suffered a 5-1 defeat.
Cincinnati were knocked out by New England Revolution despite the fact they took the lead in the 12th minute via Alvaro Barreal after a hat-trick from Carles Gil and a brace by Adam Buksa.
Pat Noonan's team are currently fifth in the Eastern Conference though, and a victory on Sunday has the chance of pushing them to the top of the division depending on other results.
Cincinnati have been stronger away from home than in front of their own fans, having won half of their matches with one of the others ending in a draw.
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Team News
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Chris Mueller was able to make his debut for Chicago Fire during their most recent outing, and he could be set to earn a place in the starting lineup on Sunday.
Victor Bezerra was also given a chance to appear for the first team as an academy graduate, while Xherdan Shaqiri is likely going to maintain his place as the attacking midfielder.
The visitors are dealing with a lot of injuries right now as Ronald Matarrita is out of action due an ankle injury, while Alex Kann has a lower-body issue.
Ray Gaddis and Allan Cruz have also all been missing as of late, which is something that has stretched the squad, but Tyler Blackett was able to return in their last outing.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Slonina; Sekulic, Teran, Omsberg, Navarro; Navarro, Pineda; Mueller, Shaqiri, Ivanov; Offor
FC Cincinnati possible starting lineup:
Vermeer; Bailey, Blackett, Cameron, Powell; Robledo, Medunjanin; Barreal, Markanich, Atanga; Ordonez
We say: Chicago Fire 0-2 FC Cincinnati
Both of these teams are enjoying vastly different seasons right now, and because of that they should be heading into the match with opposing levels of confidence.
Chicago Fire could end up at the foot of the table with a defeat, and the visitors should be able to secure a routine win on Sunday.
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 55.9%. A draw had a probability of 24% and a win for FC Cincinnati had a probability of 20.06%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chicago Fire win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.58%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.64%) and 2-1 (9.65%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.41%), while for a FC Cincinnati win it was 0-1 (6.74%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 5.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that FC Cincinnati would win this match.
