The Chicago Fire (2-3-3, 11th in the Eastern Conference) will face off against Real Salt Lake (3-2-3, fourth in the Western Conference) in a non-conference match on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The current betting odds from BETMGM SPORTSBOOK show Chicago as the favorite at +126, Real Salt Lake at +196, and a draw at +236, with an over/under of 2.5 goals.
In this first meeting between the two teams this season, both sides will have to keep an eye on their top performers. For the Fire, Brian Gutierrez has scored three goals and provided one assist so far this season, while Fabian Herbers has contributed two goals and two assists. Meanwhile for RSL, Christian Arango has six goals and one assist, and Andres Gomez has netted two goals and three assists.
Through eight matches, the Fire are averaging 1.4 goals per game and have allowed 1.8 goals per game. On the other hand, RSL is averaging 1.4 goals per game but concedes only 0.75 goals per game through eight games. Both teams have players out due to injuries – for the Fire it’s Chase Gasper and Andrew Gutman while for RSL it’s Jose Kevin Bonilla, Erik Lee Holt, Pablo Ruiz and Marcelo Silva – which means that they will need to adjust their strategies accordingly to stay competitive on the field without their full roster available.
The first half of this match will be crucial as both teams look to assert dominance early on in the game before fatigue sets in later on in the second half.
So far this season, both teams are closely matched with similar average performances across key metrics such as shots on target and corner kicks earned per game.
Overall it looks like a close matchup between these two teams that could go either way based on individual performance from key players or tactical decision making from coaches.