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New York Red Bulls vs Chicago Fire
When: Saturday, May 1 – 13:00 EDT
Where: Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, USA
Weather: Sunny, 23°C
New York Red Bulls might have lost both of their opening 2021 MLS matches against Sporting Kansas City (1-2) and Los Angeles Galaxy (2-3). However, they didn’t play particularly poorly.
Although a loss is still a loss, Red Bulls were a bit unlucky in those two bouts, as they definitely played good enough to score at least a draw.
The New York outfit will test their luck once more tonight when they take on Chicago Fire, who were similarly as unsuccessful in their season openers. With a draw with New England Revolution (2-2) and a loss to Atlanta Utd, the Fire are 12th on the latter with one point.
New York Red Bull Are Better Than How It Seems
Despite having no points two fixtures in, you can’t really look at New York Red Bulls and say they haven’t played well. In their season opener, the Red Bulls lost against Sporting Kansas City in a match that could have easily ended in a draw.
New York Red Bulls scored the first goal in 48′ via Caden Clark, but then conceded two in quick succession in 59′ and 61′. Regardless, the Red Bulls didn’t give up and pushed for another goal, yet even with 2/8 on target in the second half, they were unable to find the back of the net.
The Red Bull followed up their unfortunate loss with another tight affair against Los Angeles Galaxy who won 3-2. Again, we would say that the New York outfit were a bit unlucky, namely because Chicharito managed to successfully convert all three of his chances.
That said, the Red Bulls – namely Brian White and Fabio – weren’t exactly impressive in the attack, failing to convert their chances. Regardless, it’s important to note that New York had double the shots of Los Angeles.
For this match, New York will be without Jason Pendant, as well as Tom Edwards and Patryk Klimala who are still in quarantine. On a more positive note, Red bulls will likely field their newly signed midfielder Frankie Amaya.
Chicago Fire Struggle on the Road
Chicago Fire took a point from New England Revolution (2-2) in their season opener, but they did not impress with their showings. While a draw is a decent way to start a season, you can’t be too happy with a draw if you let a two-goal lead slip.
Perhaps even more shocking is that Chicago took a 2-0 lead only 11 minutes in, but then gave it all away after conceding in 14′ and 27′.
Chicago Fire ended that game with 51% possession and shot the ball 7/20, which doesn’t look too bad on paper, but Raphael Wicky’s men weren’t too effective with their shots.
Last round, Chicago Fire suffered a massive 1-3 loss to Atlanta United. Although it was expected for hosts to win, the way Chicago Fire played leads us to believe they will be one of those teams that won’t achieve much on the road this season.
And that’s nothing new for the Chicago side, who failed to win a single away game out of 11 last season (0-5-6) with a 10-21 GD.
For this match, Chicago Fire won’t be able to count on Stanislav Ivanov, Fabian Herbers, and Carlos Teran. On a more positive note, Robert Beric should be ready to play.
New York Red Bulls vs Chicago Fire Betting Picks
New York Red Bulls will seek their first win of the season tonight, and it’s hard to find a better-suited team to face than Chicago Fire. The New York outfit won four out of the last five home matches against Chicago Fire, with an aggregate score of 9-6.
Although those bouts happened in 2019 and earlier, there isn’t a lot that would suggest Chicago will manage to turn things around here. At this price, the New York Red Bulls are underrated.
Prediction: New York Red Bulls -0.50 Asian Handicap
