Two sides who have struggled for results in recent weeks square off in MLS as Chicago Fire play host to New York Red Bulls at Soldier Field on Saturday night.
Having failed to win any of the last five meetings between the sides, the Red Bulls will head into this one looking to get one over the hosts and pick up their first victory on the road since May.
Match preview
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Chicago Fire's hopes of securing post-season football suffered another blow as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against DC United when the two sides squared off at the SeatGeek Stadium last weekend.
Christian Benteke and Gabriel Pirani scored in a three-minute spell to put DC United in a comfortable lead heading into half time, and after Andrew Gutman pulled one back for the hosts, the Black-and-Red held on to see out all three points.
Since scraping a 1-0 victory over 10-man Cincinnati on July 18, Chicago Fire have now gone six consecutive games without a win, picking up one draw and losing five, including back-to-back defeats against Sporting Kansas City and Toluca in the Leagues Cup group stages.
Frank Klopas's men have managed just six wins from their 28 MLS matches so far while losing 14 and claiming eight draws to collect 26 points and sit bottom but one in the Eastern Conference table, six points off ninth-placed DC United in the coveted play-in spot.
Breaching opposing defences has not been a worry for Chicago Fire, who have scored 34 league goals this term, but their struggles have come at the opposite end of the pitch, where they have shipped 50 goals — only three sides have conceded more in the East.
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With just over one month of the regular season left to go, New York Red Bulls' hopes of a late push for the Conference title effectively came to an end last time out as they could only salvage a 1-1 draw against Sporting Kansas City at the Red Bull Arena.
With nothing to separate the sides at half time, experienced forward Alan Pulido broke the deadlock in the 55th minute to put the Wizards in front but 16-year-old Julian Hall spared the hosts' blushes as he netted in the 89th minute to force a share of the spoils.
New York Red Bulls have failed to taste victory in any of their last five matches across all competitions, losing three and claiming two draws since picking up a 3-1 win over FC Cincinnati on July 21.
Like this weekend's hosts, Sandro Schwarz's men also suffered consecutive defeats against Toronto FC and Mexican outfit Pachuca in their two Leagues Cup games back in July as they finished rock-bottom in Group J.
This drop-off in form has seen New York Red Bulls fall into fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 43 points from 28 matches, 16 points adrift of first-placed Inter Miami, who have one game in hand.
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Team News
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Chicago Fire remain without the services of 28-year-old defender Chase Gasper, who has been out of action since coming off with a severe injury against New England Revolution back in March.
Fellow defender Mauricio Pineda has missed each of the home side's last two matches through a leg injury and the 26-year-old is a major doubt for this weekend's clash.
New York Red Bulls, on the other hand, will take to the pitch without the American duo of Kyle Duncan and 21-year-old Roald Mitchell, who have been sidelined through knee injuries.
The Red Bulls will also have to cope without the Sweden international Emil Forsberg, who has been ruled out since picking up a foot injury against DC United back in June.
Venezuelan midfielder Wikelman Carmona has missed each of the last eight games since due to a thigh injury and the 21-year-old is also out of contention for this weekend's visitors.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Souquet, Salquist, Teran; Mueller, Navarro, Gimenez, Gutman; Haile-Selassie, Cuypers, Gutierrez
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Duncan, Nealis, Eile, Tolkin; Harper, Donkor, Edelman, Morgan; Vanzeir, Manoel
We say: Chicago Fire 1-3 New York Red Bulls
Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls have struggled to grind out results in recent weeks and will head into the weekend in search of a morale-boosting as they head into the season run-in. We predict that the Red Bulls will take the positives from their result against Sporting Kansas City and secure their first away win since mid-May.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
