Chicago Fire FC vs. New York Red Bulls Prediction, Preview and Odds - 8/8/21
Chicago Fire vs New York Red Bulls
The Chicago Fire had their third clean sheet of the season on Wednesday and the first since early last month when playing to a scoreless draw with New York City FC. Chicago has lost only two of the last eight matches with 2 wins and 4 draws following a run of seven losses in eight outings. The Fire will play without Kenneth Kronholm, Javier Casas Jr and Miguel Navarro, while Carlos Teran, Elliot Coller and Bobby Shuttleworth are all questionable.
New York is winless in each of its last five matches following a 0-0 draw on Wednesday against FC Cincinnati. Over that stretch of five fixtures, New York has three draws and two losses. New York has not had two straight matches without scoring since September of last year. The Red Bulls will play without Aaron Long, Youba Diarra, Andres Reyes and Cameron Harper. Danny Royer and Patryk Klimala are both questionable.
Seventeen-Year Old Debuts in Goal for Chicago
The Chicago Fire is 12th in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 3-5-9 14 points and a -15 goal difference. The Chicago coaching staff shook up things by starting it's youngest goalkeeper of all-time 17-year old Gabriel Slonina who posted a clean sheet in his debut with the club.It appears as though the youngster will have a long career in net. The seventeen-year-old took over for regular Bobby Shuttleworth, who is questionable. Shuttleworth started each of the first 16 matches for Chicago Fire, allowing 26 goals.
Chicago is 12th in the standings not only because of below-average play by the backline and goalkeeper, but also because of poor scoring. The Fire has scored just 18 goals through 17 matches in league play. Luka Stojanovic and Ignacio Aliseda have each scored three goals to lead the club, while three teammates have scored two goals apiece. With five assists, Alvaro Medran is the assists-leader for Chicago.
Red Bulls Strong On Attack But Lack a Finisher
The New York Red Bulls are ninth in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 5-4-7, 19 points and a 0 goal difference. New York has had a strong attack this season but has scored only 20 goals through 16 matches. In Wednesday's scoreless draw with FC Cincinnati, the Red Bulls took 23 shots, which is the most taken by a New York squad without a goal since 2013.
Caden Clark and Cristian Casseres Jr have scored four goals apiece to lead New York, while Fabio and Patryk Klimala have each scored three goals. Fabio leads the Red Bulls in assists with five and Klimala is second with four. Carlos has started each of the 17 matches New York has played this season in the MLS and the Brazilian has allowed 20 goals.
Pick: Chicago Fire FC +140
These two met on May 1 in New York and the Red Bulls won 2-0. but this match will be played on Chicago's home pitch at Soldier Field and Chicago has one win and one draw in its last two meetings at home against the Red Bulls. Chicago is winless in each of its last three matches but the Fire have posted two draws and are coming off a 0-0 draw against NYCFC in a match that saw youngster Gabriel Slonina debut in goal for the Fire with a clean sheet. New York has gone five consecutive matches without a win and is coming off a disappointing scoreless draw against a much weaker FC Cincinnati squad. New York has managed to score only four goals in its last five matches.
Total: UNder
Gabriel Slonina debuted in net for Chicago on Wednesday and the 17-year-old posted a clean sheet. The total has finished under 2.5 goals in four of the New York Red Bulls last five matches and in each of Chicago’s last two matches. Chicago is scoring an average of just 1.05 goals per match and New York scores an average of just 1.25 goals per match.
