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Sporting Kansas City will take on Chicago Fire at the Children's Mercy Park on Saturday night in an MLS cross-conference matchup. The hosts are winless in four games and suffered their worst defeat in two years in their latest outing.
Sporting Kansas City were beaten 4-0 by LAFC and to make things worse, Roger Espinoza was shown a straight red card in the 58th minute of the match. There is no reason to panic, though, as they still sit third in the Western Conference standings with 40 points from 23 matches.
The game against Chicago Fire will be the first of their three-game homestand. They have also been undefeated against Chicago Fire for the last five years.
Meanwhile, Chicago Fire snapped their two-match losing streak with a win over New York Red Bulls in their latest outing. However, having won just six games, lost five and draw 11 of their 22 matches so far, their position on the table is a cause for concern.
Raphael Wicky's men have a dozen games to try and turn their fortunes around. They are currently seven points behind DC United, who occupy the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.
The Fire have won three of their last five games and will need to keep their good form up if they want to make it to the playoffs.
Sporting Kansas City vs Chicago Fire Head-to-Head
In the last 10 meetings between the two sides, Sporting Kansas City have won six times while Chicago Fire have been victorious just twice. Two matches have ended as draws.
The last time the two sides locked horns was in October 2020 and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Sporting Kansas City form guide: W-D-D-D-L
Chicago Fire form guide: W-W-L-L-W
Sporting Kansas City vs Chicago Fire Team News
Sporting Kansas City
Roger Espinoza is suspended. Jaylin Lindsey and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin are injured. Felipe Hernandez is unavailable due to personal reasons. Gadi Kinda and Daniel Salloi have just returned from international duty and are likely to be unavailable.
Injuries: Jaylin Lindsey, Nicolas Isimat-Mirin
Unavailable: Felipe Hernandez, Gadi Kinda, Daniel Salloi
Doubtful: None
Suspension: Roger Espinoza
Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire don't have a lot of injury concerns. However, Francisco Calvo and Gaston Gimenez could miss out after returning from international duty. Ignacio Aliseda and Kenneth Kronholm sidelined with injuries.
Injuries: Ignacio Aliseda, Kenneth Kronholm
Doubtful: Francisco Calvo, Gaston Gimenez
Suspension: None
Sporting Kansas City vs Chicago Fire Predicted Lineups
Sporting Kansas City Predicted XI (4-3-3): Tim Melia; Luis Martins, Andreu Fontas, Ilie Sanchez, Graham Zusi; Remi Walter, Cameron Duke, Grayson Barber; Khiry Shelton, Johnny Russell, Alan Pulido
Chicago Fire Predicted XI (4-1-3-2): Bobby Shuttleworth; Jonathan Bornstein, Mauricio Pineda, Carlos Teran, Boris Sekulic; Alvaro Medran; Fabian Herbers, Miguel Navarro, Brian Gutierrez; Luka Stojanovic, Robert Beric
Sporting Kansas City vs Chicago Fire Prediction
Chicago Fire have failed to sustain their momentum throughout the season. Sporting Kansas City are expected to make their home advantage count here despite not being in such great form themselves.
Prediction: Sporting Kansas City 2-0 Chicago Fire
