The Orlando City SC and the Chicago Fire both enter tonight’s game at the Orlando Citrus Bowl looking for their first win of the season. Orlando salvaged a draw in their previous outing, but a loss to the Fire would be a punch to the gut, considering how bad Chicago was last season. That said, the Fire don’t look like a collection of pushovers after pushing the New York City FC to the hill on Monday.
Read on for more about this game. You can also check other soccer game previews like this weekend’s matchup between Aston Villa and Tottenham.
Line: Orlando City SC (-105) vs. Chicago Fire (-115)– view all MLS lines
TV Broadcast: UniMás, UDN, MLS LIVE
Betting on the Orlando City SC (0-1-0)
Orlando City SC failed to get a win in their season opener, but they did pull off a miracle. Down by two scores against Real Salt City in stoppage time, Orlando got a goal each from Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter to settle with a 2-2 draw on Monday instead.
Orlando, which finished 10th in the league in goals for last season with 34, will look to stay aggressive later tonight against a Chicago side that looked lost defensively in a loss to New York City FC. That should be music to the ears of reigning Rookie of the Year Larin, who led Orlando last season with 17 goals.
Orlando, however, will continue to miss the services of midfielder Kaka, as the Brazilian is still nursing a thigh injury. The team signed Italian midfielder Antonio Nocerino, who will be alongside newly activated Carlos Rivas in the middle of the pitch this Friday. Rivas wasn’t in uniform in the RSL game due to an ankle injury, but he’s expected to suit up later tonight.
It wasn’t a memorable season debut for the Chicago Fire, as they went down in flames, losing to the New York City FC on Monday, 4-3.
Razvan Cocis, Kennedy Igboananike, and David Accam each scored for the Fire, who had 17 total shots (nine on target). Scoring three goals in a game is nice, but any offensive explosion can easily be made worthless by lack of chemistry and discipline. That’s exactly what happened in the NYC FC game, as the Fire gathered seven offsides and allowed NYC FC to get off 20 shots on goal.
After making plenty of offseason changes, Chicago is still in the process of getting their new players accustomed to playing with each other. Nevertheless, old reliables like Accam and Igboananike, who were among the few bright spots for Chicago last season, are talented enough to get around Orlando City SC’s midfield that looks vulnerable without Kaka. Accam led the team with 10 goals last season, while Igboananike had seven.
