Aiming to convert draws into wins as they hope to challenge for the league title once again, St Louis City will welcome an out-of-form Chicago Fire side to CityPark on Saturday night in MLS.
City are enjoying an unbeaten run but have only won once during that period, whilst the Fire have some serious issues in front of goal to rectify ahead of this weekend's trip to Missouri.
Match preview
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After finishing at the very top of the MLS Western Conference during the 2023 season, St Louis City are finding the beginning of the 2024 edition of the competition much tougher, with Saturday's hosts currently enduring a run of just the single win in eight matches.
For the second time this term, City played out a goalless draw in the league last weekend when they visited Houston Dynamo, who despite creating the most clear-cut chances were ultimately unable to breach the net of former Borussia Dortmund man Roman Burki in the visitors' net.
Following the first 10 matches of their MLS regular season, Bradley Carnell's men are currently occupying ninth place in the Western Conference standings, having won just two and drawn seven of their opening fixtures - no other side in MLS has shared the spoils on more occasions.
Joining local rivals Los Angeles FC and La Galaxy, City are one of three outfits in the Western Conference who are still unbeaten at their respective base during the 2024 season, with St Louis collecting two wins and three draws from five contests at CityPark so far.
St Louis' ascent towards the summit of the league table could be handed a significant boost over the summer, with reports suggesting that Marco Reus could enter discussions about joining the Missouri-based club once his contract with Champions League finalists Dortmund expires at the end of the European campaign.
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Chicago Fire extended their worrying winless run in MLS to four matches last weekend, when they welcomed New England Revolution to Soldier Field, and the visitors were able to escape back to Gillette Stadium with only their second win of the blossoming 2024 campaign.
For a fourth straight game, the Fire failed to breach the net of their opponents and this time around they were made to pay in the 62nd minute, when Argentine winger Tomas Chancalay netted his second of the term to fire Caleb Porter's men towards a much-needed three points.
Following a barren spell in front of goal recently, Frank Klopas's troops have dropped down to 13th position in the Eastern Conference table, five points behind ninth-placed DC United, although the Audi Field outfit have played a game more when compared to the goal-shy Chicago.
Despite having played five away matches so far in 2024, the Fire have failed to collect a victory away from their Soldier Field home, with the base of the 2023 Western Conference winners an unlikely place to begin a rich vein of form on the road.
A bright spark in the early stages of 2024 has been the promising form of 20-year-old Brian Gutierrez, who has bagged three goals in 10 MLS appearances so far, already bettering his tally of two from 2023, when he featured in over 30 league contests.
Team News
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After featuring in the opening three matches of the MLS term, St Louis' Eduard Lowen suffered a hamstring injury and is not expected to be back until later this month.
The German is joined in the City medical room by centre-back Joshua Yaro, who managed five MLS appearances at the beginning of the campaign before picking up a hamstring issue.
Carnell is also light of options in his engine room due to the absence of South African Njabulo Blom, also unavailable because of a hamstring strain.
Chicago are without the services of left-back Chase Gasper due to a leg issue, meaning that Andrew Gutman will retain his spot in defence this weekend.
There are also injury concerns for the Fire in the centre of their backline, with Danish enforcer Tobias Salquist sidelined until the end of the month.
St Louis City possible starting lineup:
Burki; Totland, Parker, Hiebert, Markanich; Durkin, Ostrak, Alm, Vassiliev, Jackson; Klauss
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Arigoni, Pineda, Teran, Gutman; Gutierrez, Herbers, Acosta, Mueller; Cupyers, Barlow
We say: St Louis City 2-0 Chicago Fire
Despite failing to convert their draws into wins so far this season, St Louis have been a tough nut to crack in MLS, losing just one of their opening 10 games.
Therefore, City should be confident of recording a positive result at CityPark, and considering Chicago's dry spell in front of goal, the hosts are likely to be good enough for maximum points in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
