Toyota Park has been a disaster to opponents this season, and the Chicago Fire are a big part of that. This has been one of the better starts to the campaign we've seen out of the Fire in recent years, and we'll have to see if they can keep it going on Saturday night against the Seattle Sounders.
Don't miss the MLS action from Toyota Park at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 13, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on ESPN2.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Chicago Fire +115
Seattle Sounders +235
Draw +256
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
At the rate which these two teams have been drawing matches this year, it might be a little surprising that the draw features the longest odds on the board. Both clubs have three in nine matches, yet a price of +256 suggests that maybe this is the least likely outcome of the bunch.
The Fire are set at +115 on the moneyline, insinuating that it's just worse than 50/50 that they are able to get three points versus being left with fewer than three from this affair.
The total is set at 2.5 with -130 vig on the over.
Key Injuries
Matt Polster and Patrick Doody have been dealing with minor problems for the Fire. Polster has a hip flexor issue, and he has the greater concern. Doody, who missed much of training last week due to illness, should be fine by the time Saturday night rolls around. The real concern is the ankle problem for John Goossens. He's out for at least the next few months, and there's a good chance he doesn't return for the Fire this season.
The Sounders remain dinged up at the back. Oniel Fisher, Chad Marshall and Nouhou Tolo are all out with various injuries, while Brad Evans has a calf muscle strain that he should be returning from as soon as possibly this match. Aaron Kovar and Jordan Morris are both questionable as well, and if Morris isn't out there, the question is going to arise what type of formation this club tries to settle into with possibly just Nicolas Lodeiro and Clint Demsey set to join Will Bruin up front instead of settling into more of a 4-2-3-1 form.
Recent Form
Seattle has now been asked a couple straight questions at home that it didn't answer well. The Sounders were beaten by Toronto FC in a rematch of last year's MLS Cup last Saturday, while the week before, they were incredibly fortunate to rally from three goals down to draw level with New England. The Revs were clearly the better team in the first half of that match before the Sounders rallied. Good on them for doing so, but the bottom line is that one point from two Eastern Conference teams at home isn't what Seattle has become accustomed to over the years.
The Fire – sporting a 3-1-0 mark at home this term thus far, had a relatively successful go of it on the West Coast last weekend against the LA Galaxy, drawing 2-2. That came on the heels of consecutive losses to New York and Toronto FC on the road, two matches that probably were expected to be lost from the get go.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
It really seems like the addition of Bastian Schweinsteiger has helped out the Fire a ton this year. They were really missing that veteran presence on the pitch, and they've got it now. Schweiny now has two goals for his new team, and parlaying him with David Accam has really brought the Fire back into the realm of respectability.
The Sounders are overstated in this match. They're coming on the road, they're not in great form, and quite frankly, we're not that sure they're a great team either. We'll take Chicago and those nice plus odds for the win.
MLS Odds: Chicago 2, Seattle 0
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