Preview & Prediction: FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire

In the upcoming MLS match, FC Cincinnati and Chicago Fire clash at TQL Stadium. The odds favor FC Cincinnati heavily due to their impressive home successes. With a solid home win record of 50% and an expected Goals Value (xG) of 1.58, FC Cincinnati’s home form appears incredibly strong. In contrast, Chicago Fire struggles with an underwhelming
away record.

The teams last faced each other on July 18th, 2024, resulting in a goalless draw. Looking at their past encounters, they’ve met 11 times. FC Cincinnati has emerged victorious 5 times while Chicago Fire secured 3 wins, and 3 games ended in a draw. The overall home form of FC Cincinnati is average, but Chicago Fire’s away form leaves a lot to be desired.

Considering historical data, a game involving these teams averages 2.91 goals with both teams scoring in 55% of their encounters. For this season, FC Cincinnati boasts an average of 1.67 Points Per Game in home matches, overshadowing Chicago Fire’s average of 0.64 Points Per Game in away matches.

Reflecting on FC Cincinnati’s recent 5-match performance, they impress with 9 points and 12 goals. They’ve scored in the last 4 games at their home ground, with both teams scoring in 4 of the last 5 games. Given their tendency to score – registered in the last 7 games leading to this match, it’s highly probable that they will find the back of the net again.

Contrarily, Chicago Fire has banked just 4 points from their last 5 games, with 7 goals to their name. But their goal-scoring ability has been inconsistent, failing to score in 2 of their last 5 games. They need to enhance their attack strategy for this game, as they’ve been goalless in the last 2 matches. Both teams have scored in 3 of their last 5 games.

Based on these facts and figures, FC Cincinnati’s home advantage combined with their scoring proclivity positions them in a strong spot. Chicago Fire will need to overcome their away game challenges and scoring inconsistency to compete effectively. The match appears promising with likely multiple goals..

Insights

• FC Cincinnati has been in impressive form, winning 1.8 points per game on average, with 9 points from their last 5 games.
• Chicago Fire has struggled with just 4 points from their last 5 games, averaging 0.8 points per game.
• Goal scoring has been more frequent for FC Cincinnati, scoring 12 times in the last 5 matches, while Chicago Fire has scored 7 times in the same period.
• FC Cincinnati has consistently found the back of the net, scoring in their last 7 games, and in 4 out of their last 5 games with both teams scoring (BTTS). Comparable, Chicago Fire has seen BTTS in 3 of their last 5 games, but had failed to score in 2 of these.
• Tendency for high-scoring games, with FC Cincinnati’s last 3 games ending with 3 or more goals and a total of 20 goals in their last 5 games.
• FC Cincinnati has a solid home form while Chicago Fire struggles on the road.
• Historical match-ups favor FC Cincinnati, winning 5 out of the 11 previous encounters, with Chicago Fire taking 3 and 3 matches ending in a draw.
• Both teams have a high likelihood of scoring with BTTS seen in 70% of FC Cincinnati’s matches and 65% of Chicago Fire’s matches this season.
• The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a draw (0-0).
• FC Cincinnati sports a healthy win percentage of 50% at home compared to Chicago Fire’s away form.
• FC Cincinnati’s expectation of goals (xG) in the match stands at 1.58, indicative of their scoring prowess.
• The average goal statistic per game when these two teams meet stands at 2.91 goals, with BTTS occurring 55% of the time.
• In terms of average points per game this season, FC Cincinnati shows dominance with 1.67 at home matches, compared to Chicago Fire’s 0.64 at away matches.

Match Facts

• When FC Cincinnati is the home team playing against Chicago Fire, the 0-0 draw is the most frequent outcome, with 3 matches all culminating in this result.
• Reviewing the last 6 instances FC Cincinnati hosted Chicago Fire, FC Cincinnati managed 1 win, 3 matches resulted in a draw, while Chicago Fire emerged victorious 2 times. The goal ratio favored Chicago Fire with a close 7-6.
• Over the history of 14 clashes between the two sides, FC Cincinnati has won 5 games, 5 games ended in a draw and Chicago Fire won 4 times. Again, a narrow goal difference of 20-19 leans in favor of Chicago Fire.
• During last season’s face-offs, the outcomes were: 1-0 (for FC Cincinnati, at home) and a 3-3 draw (with Chicago Fire hosting).
• FC Cincinnati is currently in form, having claimed three straight victories in the MLS.
• Chicago Fire’s recent away games in MLS have not been successful with three losses in succession.
• Interesting to note, FC Cincinnati has a tendency to score 29% of their goals between the 46th and 60th minute mark.
• Likewise, Chicago Fire predominantly scores 36% of their goals between the 76th and 90th minute of the game.
• On home soil, FC Cincinnati has been scoreless in 3 out of their 11 MLS home games this season.
• Similarly, Chicago Fire failed to net a goal in 3 out of 11 games during their MLS away endeavors this season.

• Chicago Fire’s current away record for the season stands at 1 win, 4 draws, and 6 losses.
• Luciano Acosta is the leading scorer for FC Cincinnati with 10 goals under his belt, while Hugo Cuypers holds that mantle for Chicago Fire with 9 goals.
• In terms of assists, Luciano Acosta of FC Cincinnati holds the spotlight with 16 assists, while Fabian Herbers from Chicago Fire is credited with 4 assists.
• The Cincinnati team has been in form lately, scoring at least one goal in their last 6 consecutive games.
• Conversely, Chicago Fire has seen their defence breached in each of their last 12 games.
• FC Cincinnati tends to win the first half in 28% of their matches, whereas Chicago Fire holds this statistic at a lower 7%.
• The last meeting between FC Cincinnati and Chicago Fire saw FC Cincinnati as the victors.
• FC Cincinnati enjoys a pretty strong home ground advantage winning 80% of their games when they lead 1-0 at home. However, if Chicago Fire takes a 0-1 lead away from home, they only managed to retain it in 40% of their matches.
• FC Cincinnati barely makes a comeback at home when down 0-1, as demonstrated by their 12% win rate. Similarly, Chicago Fire wins only 9% of their matches when they are trailing 1-0 away.
• Overall, FC Cincinnati has shown better performance in the MLS than Chicago Fire.
• Comparatively looking at the last 5 matches, FC Cincinnati has been the stronger side.
• In their direct last 5 encounters, FC Cincinnati won 3 times, Chicago Fire won once and one game ended in a draw.
• On average, an encounter between FC Cincinnati and Chicago Fire yields about 3.6 goals per game, where FC Cincinnati tends to score 2 goals and Chicago Fire averages 1.6 goals.
• The first half of their meetings typically sees an average of 1.2 goals.
• When hosting, FC Cincinnati exhibits an impressive offensive performance with an average of 2.11 goals per game, whereas Chicago Fire manages to score 1.14 goals on average during their away games.