Two teams battling in the bottom half of the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference will meet this weekend as Chicago Fire hosts Charlotte FC in their latest fixture.
The hosts head into this game on the back of a defeat against CF Montreal while their opponents were able to secure three points in midweek.
Match preview
Chicago Fire only find themselves six points away from the playoff positions right now, but equally, they are just two places above the bottom of the league.
The squad has struggled to find consistency throughout the campaign, with nine victories, eight draws, and 14 defeats to their name this season.
A major problem that the squad has dealt with is finding the back of the net, as no team in the Eastern Conference has scored fewer goals than them to this point.
Despite that, Chicago were able to score twice in midweek with Xherdan Shaqiri managing to convert two penalties throughout the match against CF Montreal, but they were still defeated 3-2 in that game.
Chicago conceded all of their goals in the first half during midweek, and starting stronger in their upcoming match is something they will be focused on achieving.
The visitors are level with Chicago in terms of points, but they do have a slight advantage in goal difference and they have played one game fewer, giving them a stronger chance to progress up the table.
Their midweek performance showcased the qualities that Charlotte have in their squad when they defeated New York City by a goal to nil, which was a surprise result.
Daniel Rios scored in the fifth minute of the game, and the squad were able to defend that throughout the rest of the game, even though Christian Fuchs was sent off early in the second half.
That victory brought an end to a three-match run without one where Charlotte were defeated in all of them, which is a situation that saw them drop down the table.
Charlotte did also face Chicago recently in a five-goal thriller which saw them lose 3-2, which is a result they will now be keen to react against.
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Team News
Federico Navarro is someone that could make a return for Chicago Fire this weekend after serving his suspension, and he could end up being slotted back into the team again.
Stanislav Ivanov is dealing with a right quad problem right now while Jairo Torres is also on the shelf with an injury, and they are both unlikely to feature.
After putting together an impressive 1-0 victory against New York City FC in midweek, there may not be many changes made to the Charlotte starting lineup.
Fuchs is one player they will be without though following his red card, which is going to see a switch in the back four.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Slonina; Sekulic, Teran, Czichos, Navarro; Bornstein, Pineda; Gutierrez, Shaqiri, Reynolds II; Duran
Charlotte FC possible starting lineup:
Kahilina; Afful, Malanda, Walkes, Sobocinski; Bronico, Jones, Jozwiak, Swiderski; Vargas, Rios
We say: Chicago Fire 1-2 Charlotte FC
The fact that these two teams are joint on points in the league table showcases that there is not going to be much to separate them at the weekend.
Charlotte has some momentum behind them though, and that could lead to them having the confidence to secure all three points in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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