FC Cincinnati (11 wins, 8 losses, 13 draws) welcomes the Chicago Fire (9-15-8) for its final home game of the regular season at TQL Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we preview Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the FC Cincinnati vs. Chicago Fire odds, and make our best MLS bets, picks and predictions.
FC Cincinnati can lock up a playoff spot for the first time in club history with a win. It has lost just 1 game since May 28. FCC has drawn 11 of their last 16 games.
It is led by F Brandon Vazquez, who has 16 goals on the season, but his recent cold streak has helped fellow teammate F Brenner catch up as he has 15 now. Captain M Lucho Acosta leads the roster with 11 assists.
As for the Fire, it is firmly outside of playoff contention sitting in 12th place and 10 points behind the 7th place Inter Miami. They’ve scored 35 goals in 32 games, which is where the team’s main struggles come from.
Former Swiss star M Xherdan Shaqiri has scored 7 goals this season, leading the team. Also, 18-year-old F Jáder Durán comes in second on the Fire with 6 goals.
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FC Cincinnati vs. Chicago Fire odds
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 11 p.m. ET.
- Money line: FC Cincinnati -160 (bet $160 to win $100) | Chicago Fire +400 (bet $100 to win $400) | Draw +330
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: -180 | U: +145)
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Prediction
FC Cincinnati 2, Chicago Fire 2
Money line (ML)
SPRINKLE DRAW (+330).
While FC Cincinnati has been playing well as of late, especially at home, it has consistently drawn opponents.
Even though they’ve won 3 of their last 5, they’ve had a ton of draws recently, and it has been against top-tier sides like NYCFC and lowly clubs like Vancouver and Atlanta.
Chicago has drawn 2 of its last 5 and has been within an expected goal of its opponent in 6 of its last 7, so it, despite having little chance to make the playoffs, has been competitive.
Over/Under (O/U)
BET OVER 2.5 (-180).
With the Fire likely to put out a high-potential lineup, there should be hope they find some holes in the FCC defense, one which has allowed the 4th-most goals in the conference.
Players like Duran should be able to break through and have shown promise in the minutes given. He has played at least 70 minutes in the team’s last 3 games.
He should get run and is averaging the most goals per 90 minutes on the team. For FCC, Brenner and Vazquez have been on fire as of late. FCC has scored multiple goals in 4 of its last 6.
I’m not sure I’d play this up to 3.5 for the better value, but I do like it despite the juice here.
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