Chicago Fire will look to continue their unbeaten start to the Major League Soccer campaign when they take on Orlando City at Exploria Stadium this weekend.
The home side have struggled to click into gear so far this season and will be desperate to right their wrongs with a victory over high-flyers Chicago.
Match preview
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It has come to the shock of nobody that Chicago Fire have begun the season in such fine form. Having come off the back of a stellar transfer window, Ezra Hendrickson's side are displaying some of the division's best performances so far.
Unbeaten from their first five matches, a strong Fire outfit have already seen off strong opponents such as Sporting Kansas City and DC United.
However, with just two wins from that run of five matches, ensuring their positive form does not just lead to stalemates will be of paramount importance for Hendrickson.
Three draws have punctuated what has been an otherwise flawless campaign, with the Fire dreaming of a successful campaign in the Eastern Conference.
The same cannot be said for Orlando City, who have endured a difficult start to the season, winning just two of their opening six matches.
While their sole victory did come against Western Conference giants LA Galaxy, a shaky backline, coupled with an inability to find the back of the net, has seen Orlando fail to click into gear.
Granted, they do currently occupy one of the seven playoff spots in the conference, but if they cannot put together a consistent run of form, it is likely that Orlando will be looking over their shoulders, rather than up.
Yet, a traditionally strong record against Chicago will inspire the City faithful, as Orlando have lost only one of their last four MLS meetings with the Fire.
At home, it is an even better record for Orlando, who have been beaten just twice in their seven meetings since being inducted as an MLS club in 2015.
For Chicago, they are eyeing up their first victory away to Orlando since a whopping 5-2 triumph against the City in October 2019.
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Team News
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Without question the highlight of Chicago's transfer window was the capture of Xherdan Shaqiri, who joined the Fire from Ligue 1 side Lyon.
Having netted his first goal in a Chicago shirt in the win against Sporting KC, the Swiss international was handed the armband last time out and will likely lead the Fire attack this weekend.
Similarly, Kacper Przybylko also made headlines with his move from Philadelphia Union to the Fire, with the striker having scored twice in five matches for his new side.
At the opposite end, Gabriel Slonina will be eyeing up back-to-back shutouts, having kept a clean sheet in the recent goalless draw with FC Dallas.
Without any injury concerns of their own, manager Oscar Pareja will once again turn to talisman Alexandre Pato, as Orlando look to bounce back from a hammering against Los Angeles FC last weekend.
Facundo Torres and Ercan Kara will join Pato in attack, whereas goalkeeper Pedro Gallese will be hoping for a better run-out after shipping four to LAFC on Sunday.
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Teixeira, Carlos, Jansson, Moutinho; Urso, Araujo; Pato, Pereyra, Torres; Kara
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Slonina; Sekulic, Omsberg, Pineda, Navarro; Gimenez, Navarro; Ivanov, Shaqiri, Herbers; Przybylko
We say: Orlando City 0-2 Chicago Fire
A clash that is poised to be a decisive fixture even at this early stage of the campaign, an unbeaten Fire side will look to pounce on a stuttering Orlando.
Chicago have the firepower and the potential to blow the hosts away, with an away victory the most likely outcome.
Top tip
Amos Murphy
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 Orlando City win with a probability of 52.43%. A win for Chicago Fire had a probability of 24.1% and a draw had a probability of 23.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Orlando City win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.74%) and 2-0 (8.71%). The likeliest Chicago Fire win was 0-1 (6.28%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.06%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Orlando City in this match.
