Jason Kreis' time with Orlando City has been reasonable for sure, but his team is in a lot of trouble after a dud last weekend against Seattle. The Chicago Fire are up next, and if the Lions don't get their acts together in this one, they could be beaten down by another team sitting towards the bottom of the table in the MLS.
The fixture between the Chicago Fire and Orlando City is scheduled for Sunday, August 14, 2016, at 4:00 p.m. ET at Toyota Park. The match will be televised live on UniMas.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chicago Fire +110
Orlando City +240
Draw +210
Over/Under 2.5 (over -115)
Odds Analysis
Even though Chicago only has 18 points through 21 matches, fewer than any other team in the MLS, it is the betting favorite in this match due to the fact that Orlando City has been so bad away from home. The Fire are a reasonable 4-4-2 on the campaign, and that's why they're +110 favorites to get three points which could prove valuable if they could go on a bit of a run here in the last couple months of the regular season.
The total is somewhat low considering the fact that Orlando City has played so many over matches, but this 2.5 with -115 vig on the over is really a testament to the fact that the Fire have just 20 goals scored in 21 matches this year.
Key Injuries
The only real concern for the Fire right now is Joao Meira, a defender who is battling a hamstring injury and isn't likely to play this weekend.
Orlando City is starting to deal with more woes than it would like to admit. Pedro Ribeiro and Harrison Heath are both unavailable in the midfield, while Rafael Ramos and Tommy Redding are both out in the back. David Mateos has been suspended for this fixture as well thanks to yellow card accumulation.
Recent Form
The Fire have lost a couple tough matches in a row, first against Real Salt Lake last weekend, then against New England in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday. Both matches were lost by identical 3-1 scores. Chicago has just one point to show for its work in its last four matches overall, and the last time it won a game against any MLS club was back on July 13 over Sporting Kansas City.
Orlando City feels like one of these clubs taking one step forward and two steps back. A 3-1 win at home over New England on the last day of July was fantastic for building some momentum into August, and it really felt like that was going to translate over when the team took a 1-0 lead seven minutes in against Seattle last weekend. Clint Dempsey put on a show though, scoring three times for his hat trick, and the visitors went home with a 3-1 victory.
Four straight OCSC matches have gone past the total featuring exactly four goals.
Free ATS Pick
Kaka has been in great form for the Lions with assist in consecutive games, but the problem he's having is that he hasn't been helping out all that much in defense. The Lions have left themselves far too open on counterattacks in particular since Kreis has taken over. There are times when their offense really looks forward-thinking and stout, but all too often, turnovers or dead possession ends up resulting in big problems on the other end of the field.
Chicago though, isn't the best team in the world to take advantage of that. It does have David Accam, one of the best finishers in the MLS, but he doesn't have the team around him to really muster all that much in the way of excellent chances.
If the Fire are even remotely off their game in defense, they'll be beaten in this match.
Soccer Odds: Orlando City 2, Chicago 0
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