Chicago Fire at San Jose Earthquakes Betting Preview
Two of the bottom teams in Major League Soccer meet up this holiday weekend as the Chicago Fire visit the San Jose Earthquakes in a cross-conference matchup. Despite a win during the week, the Fire are in 13th place out of 14 teams in the East, while San Jose is in last place in the Western Conference.
Sunday’s game is set for a 9:00 p.m. ET kickoff from PayPal Park in San Jose. The game will stream on ESPN+ and air locally in both markets.
These teams first met in 1998, and Chicago leads the series 16-12 with 12 draws. Their biggest meeting came in the 2003 MLS Cup, won by San Jose 4-2. They last met in the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament, with San Jose winning 2-0 in the group stage, and last played in San Jose in 2019.
San Jose is favored in the game at +110, with Chicago at +210 and a draw at +260.
Chicago Fire Looking for Win Streak
Things have not been easy for the Chicago Fire this season as they continue rebuilding. However, they got a surprising 1-0 home win over first-place Philadelphia on Wednesday and now have a chance to build some momentum.
The Fire are 1-6-2 on the road this season, with the win coming back on March 12. They have lost six of the last seven games outside of Chicago and overall have a -7 goal differential.
Manager Ezra Hendrickson typically employs a 4-2-3-1 formation, and none of the Fire players have started at least 12 of the 17 MLS games. Against the Union, Kacper Przybylko started up top with Chris Mueller and Fabian Herbers on the wings. New Designated Player Xherdan Shaqiri starts as the attacking midfielder with Gaston Gimenez and Federico Navarro behind him.
Wyatt Omsberg has 14 starts in defense this season but is down with a foot injury, and Mauricio Pineda missed the last two games through illness. Andre Reynolds made his first start of the season in defense on Wednesday before being subbed off for Jonathan Bornstein. Captain Rafael Czichos starts as a center-back, with Boris Sekulic as a fullback.
Shaqiri leads the Fire with three goals and three assists on the season. Przybylko has three goals, while Gimenez and Brian Gutierrez both have two assists. Mueller has made an impact since joining from Scotland with one goal as he frees up Shaqiri and Przybylko.
Teenage goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina has started all 17 games in goal. He’s allowed 22 goals and made 30 saves while securing seven clean sheets.
San Jose’s Defense Lets Them Down
The Earthquakes have one of the worst defenses in the league, allowing 34 goals in 16 games. They are 3-1 at home with four draws and have just two points from eight road games. The Earthquakes haven’t played since June 18 since their scheduled game against the Galaxy last week was postponed due to a power outage.
The last San Jose win was on May 18, and they have two draws and two losses in that span. They have allowed at least two goals in four of their last six games and in 12 of the 16 games overall. Alex Covelo is the interim manager, and he employs a 4-2-3-1 formation.
The Earthquakes welcomed Marcos Lopez back from injury in the June 18 game but are still without Cade Cowell, who is with the U-20 USMNT, and without Jackson Yueill, who has missed two games with injury. The status of defender Francisco Calvo is also up in the air as the Costa Rican international and former Fire player has been rumored to be headed to a club team in Europe.
When healthy, the Earthquakes like up with Jeremy Ebobisse up top in attack with Cristian Espinoza. Jamiro Monteiro is the attacking center mid, and the other attacking spot is open with Cowell gone. On June 18, it was Benjamin Kikanovic with Judson and Yueill in the midfield as well, and Jan Gregus is an option if healthy.
Paul Marie, Nathan Cardoso, Tanner Beason, and Lopez started in defense in a 0-0 draw against Nashville. JT Marcinkowski has started all 16 games in goal, allowing 34 goals and making 59 saves with two clean sheets.
Ebobisse leads the team with nine goals, while Espinoza has four. Gregus and Espinoza both have five assists, while Monteiro has four.
Chicago Fire at San Jose Earthquakes Pick and Prediction
This is such a good opportunity for both teams, and squad rotation for the Fire will be interesting while San Jose is well-rested. Chicago’s offense can definitely cause problems for San Jose, and the hosts will look to Monteiro and Ebobisse to counter.
San Jose probably has the better attack overall, especially at home, but their defense has been so bad all season that it is tough to back them for a win. Looking for a 1-1 draw or both teams to score is the smart way to go in a game between two teams at the bottom of their conference standings.
