Orlando City will look to build on their opening-day Major League Soccer victory on Saturday, when they travel to Chicago Fire in the second round of fixtures of the campaign.
The Lions defeated CF Montreal in their first outing, while their hosts are in search of a first win after a goalless draw last time out.
Match preview
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Chicago Fire had to endure an underwhelming MLS campaign last time around, as they finished in 12th spot in the Eastern Conference.
In their 34 games, the Illinois outfit amassed just 34 points, ending up 14 points outside of the top seven, again missing out on the playoffs as a result.
Their poor run spelled the end for former manager Raphael Wicky, who was dismissed with seven games to go, and Chicago Fire now head into the new term with Ezra Hendrickson at the helm.
They began with a tough trip to Inter Miami last Saturday, and the game finished goalless despite both sides coming close to breaking the deadlock at various stages, with Chicago denied by the woodwork in the first half.
Having started with a point, Hendrickson's side will look to quickly post their first victory of the campaign to set off on the right foot as they aim for a playoff finish this time around.
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They welcome an Orlando City side who also come into the new campaign looking for improvement after their short playoffs cameo last term.
The Lions were particularly impressive at various stages, but, after an eventual sixth-placed finish in the Eastern Conference, they were given the tough task of a draw with third-placed Nashville SC.
Oscar Pareja's side would succumb to a 3-1 aggregate defeat in that game, and they will now look for a better all-round campaign with a bigger impact in the playoffs.
They certainly began in impressive fashion at home to CF Montreal, as Alexandre Pato opened the scoring immediately after half time and Benji Michel went on to find the net on the hour mark to secure a 2-0 win on home turf.
Pareja's side will now aim to build a strong start to the season with a second straight win as they again look to establish themselves at the top end of the Conference from the outset.
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Team News
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Chicago Fire added well to their squad in the off-season, with Swiss talisman Xherdan Shaqiri a particularly notable addition, and the former Liverpool man should be a key player for Hendrickson's side this term.
Kacper Przybylko also arrived, and, after netting 12 MLS goals for Philadelphia Union last season, he will aim to open his account for the season at the weekend.
Following an opening clean sheet, the new manager should avoid tampering with his defensive line, with Wyatt Omsberg and Rafael Czichos again set to partner up at the heart of a back four.
Orlando will be without defender Robin Jansson for Saturday's game, as he is suspended following a red card in the victory over Montreal.
While Daryl Dike departed for West Bromwich Albion in the off-season, the Lions do have experienced striker Alexandre Pato to call upon, and the Brazilian opened his account for the season at the first time of asking last time out.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Slonina; Sekulic, Omsberg, Czichos, Navarro; Gimenez, Pineda; Ivanov, Shaqiri, Herbers; Przybylko
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Ruan, Schlegel, Carlos, Moutinho; Akindele, Araujo; Torres, Pereyra, Michel; Pato
We say: Chicago Fire 1-2 Orlando City
Chicago Fire looked solid in their opening game, but we ultimately see them falling short on Saturday.
While they certainly boast an improved squad, we still see Orlando's as the stronger of the two and expect them to make it two wins from two.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chicago Fire win with a probability of 49.57%. A draw had a probability of 25.3% and a win for Orlando City had a probability of 25.11%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chicago Fire win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.41%) and 2-0 (9.09%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.03%), while for a Orlando City win it was 0-1 (7.7%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.4% likelihood.
