Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Major League Soccer clash between Orlando City and Chicago Fire, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Orlando City and Chicago Fire will each be looking to move clear of the bottom of the Eastern Conference table when they meet on Saturday night.
These two sides sit in 14th and 13th position respectively, and are at risk of being pulled down to last place should they suffer defeat at Inter&Co Stadium.
Match preview
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Having finished in second place in MLS last season, everyone associated with Orlando City would have been expecting to kick on in 2024.
Instead, just four victories have come from 18 matches, with the Florida-based outfit currently on a five-match streak without success.
Last time out, Oscar Pareja‘s side twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with Charlotte FC, yet it was not deemed to be a positive result with their hosts down to 10 men from the 38th minute.
In the short term, it was enough to keep the Lions in close proximity to the teams immediately above them, but Pareja will accept that his side need wins on the board.
That particularly rings true at the Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions have collected just six points and scored only seven goals from their nine matches.
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For a team that finished in 13th place in the Eastern Conference last season, it should come as little surprise that they occupy the same place this time around.
However, Frank Klopas‘s side are on an upward trajectory, accumulating eight points from their most recent four outings and winning their last two.
After a 2-1 triumph was posted against LA Galaxy, Chicago Fire rallied in the second half at Toronto FC to run out 4-1 victors across the border.
With two teams sitting in third in the Western Conference and seventh in the Eastern having been defeated, there are high hopes of just a second away success of the season occurring at the weekend.
Orlando City Major League Soccer form:
Chicago Fire Major League Soccer form:
Team News
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Cesar Araujo is in line to return to the Orlando City starting lineup as a straight replacement for Felipe Martins.
Martin Ojeda will also feel confident of being recalled in the final third, but the remainder of the side could stay the same.
The likes of Pedro Gallese, David Brekalo and Wilder Cartagena are all away on international duty.
Meanwhile, Klopas may see no reason to make any changes to his Chicago Fire XI as they bid for three wins in a row.
Half of the team were rested during the closing stages in Toronto, with the remainder of the side having performed admirably to post their most notable victory of the season.
Xherdan Shaqiri remains away on international duty with Switzerland.
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Stajduhar; Thorhallsson, Schlegel, Jansson, Santos; Angulo, Aruajo, Lodeiro, Torres; McGuire, Muriel
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Souquet, Teran, Pineda; Arigoni, Herbers, Acosta, Dean; Haile-Selassie, Gutierrez; Cuypers
We say: Orlando City 1-2 Chicago Fire
Although both sides avoided defeat in their last game, it is Chicago Fire who have recently built up a head of steam. With that in mind, we are backing the visitors to make it three MLS triumphs on the bounce.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.