DC United vs. Chicago Fire Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 9/15/21
DC United vs Chicago Fire
DC United battled to a 1-1 draw on the road against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. DC United scored an equalizer in the 44th minute with an Ola Kamara goal from the penalty spot and was able to hold off late charges by the Red Bulls. DC United will play without Brendan Hines-Ike, Adrian Perez, and Chris Odoi-Atsem. Questionable are Nigel Robertha, Paul Arriola, Bill Hamid and Donovan Pines.
Chicago Fire was defeated by Sporting Kansas 2-0 on the road Saturday and the struggles for the club continue as the Fire have lost each of the last four matches and have been held scoreless in two of those four losses. Kenneth Kronholm is out injured for Chicago Fire, while Ignacio Aliseda, Francisco Calvo and Brian Gutierrez are questionable
DC United Battling for Playoff Spot in the East
DC United is sixth in the MLS Eastern Conference standings with a record of 9-4-10, 31 points and a +3 goal difference. DC United is tied with 7th place CF Montreal and is in front on wins, but just one point ahead of eighth place Atlanta United. Only the first seven places qualify for the postseason. DC United is scoring an average of 1.57 goals per match but the back line is giving up too much at a rate of 1.43 goals per match.
The leading goal scorer for DC United is Ola Kamara with 13, while Yordy Reyna has scored four and Paul Arriola has three. Julian Gressel is the leader in assists for DC United with 4 and Andy Najar has three. DC United shares the goalkeeper duties with Jon Kempin seeing action in 10 matches and Bill Hamid in 10, while Chris Seitz has played in four. Kempin has allowed 16 goals in his 10 appearances of which 9 were starts.
Chicago Eight Points from Playoff Spot
With 11 matches left in the regular season, the Chicago Fire is 8 points out of 7th place, which is the final playoff spot, in the Eastern Conference. Chicago is 12th with a record of 6-5-12, with 23 points and a -11 goal difference. Chicago has had plenty of problems putting the ball in the net as the Fire are scoring an average of only 1.04 goals per match with 24 goals in 23 matches. Chicago has allowed an average of 1.52 goals per match.
Chicago has been held scoreless in two of its last three matches and this season the leading goal scorer is Luka Stojanovic with seven. Robert Beric and Ignacio Aliseda each have scored three. Alvaro Medran is the leader in assists with 5 and Boris Sekulic has four. Bobby Shuttleworth has appeared in 22 of Chicago's 23 matches and has allowed 33 goals.
Pick: DC United -147
DC United and Chicago battled to a 2-2 in the most recent match between the two but prior to that DC United defeated Chicago 1-0 at home on May 13. Chicago has had problems on the road as the Fire are winless in 10 of 11 matches played away from Soldier Field. At home this season, DC United has six wins and three losses. Chicago will struggle against the DC United back line and goalkeeper as the Fire scores an average of only 1.04 goals per match while DC United is scoring an average of 1.57 goals per match and up against a Chicago backline and keeper allowing an average of 1.52 goals per match.
Total: Over
The goal total has finished over in 6 of DC United's last seven matches. including the most recent match between these two when Chicago and DC United combined to score four goals. DC United is scoring an average of 1.57 goals per match and allowing an average of 1.43 goals per match, while Chicago allows an average of 1.52 goals per match.