Chicago Fire v LAFC Bet Builder Stats & Predictions
Chicago Fire v LAFC
Kick Off: 01:30, Sunday 10th August
Competition: MLS
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Chicago Fire will be hoping to build on back to back victories against Montreal and New York Red Bulls when they host LAFC, who will be hoping to improve on their stuttering run of late which has seen them draw three of their last five matches across all competitions.
Match Stats: Chicago are a completely different side at home
Chicago Fire have the biggest contrast in the MLS when comparing their home and away performances this season. Their 11 home games have produced just 26 goals, and they’ve only come away victorious in three of these games. However, Chicago have won seven of their 13 games on the road, with these games producing a mammoth 59 goals – 33 more than they’ve seen in their home games.
Unfortunately for LAFC, it doesn’t look like they’ll be able to make the most of Chicago’s shortcomings at home this season, seeing as they’ve only won two of their nine away games in the MLS this season. These games have produced plenty of goals with an average of 3.7 per game.
This is the first meeting between the sides since 2019, so they don’t have a recent history of competing against each other which may result in a cagey game, in line with the lower goal counts that Chicago have been seeing at home this season. LAFC may not have the best away record this season, but their recent record of grinding out draws suggests that they can be competitive in this match, maybe even to the point of the two sides cancelling each other out.
Predictions –
- Under 3.5 goals @ 1.45
- Match Result – Draw @ 3.5
Shot Stats: Hugo Cuypers and Denis Bouanga the players to watch
Hugo Cuypers and Denis Bouanga are both the top scorers for their respective clubs and are worth shining a spotlight on here, in a game that could have limited chances and be quite cagey. Hugo Cuypers has scored 14 goals across his 23 appearances in the MLS this season while averaging 2.87 shots per 90 and 1.62 shots on target per 90.
He’s already eclipsed his return from the 2024 season where he netted 10 goals across his 31 appearances in the MLS. He’s scored in each of his last two games, which coincides with Chicago picking up back to back wins.
Denis Bouanga has scored 13 goals and provided five assists across his 21 appearances in the MLS this season – topping LAFC ranks for both metrics. It’s worth noting that six of these goals have come from the penalty spot, so that has contributed to Bouanga’s strong goalscoring record this term.
Bouanga has a really strong record in the MLS – he provided 30 goal contributions across his 36 appearances in the MLS last season and posted 31 goal contributions across his 36 appearances during the 2023 campaign.
Predictions –
- Hugo Cuypers to score anytime @ 2.5
- Denis Bouanga to score/assist @ 1.8
Card Stats: A cagey game could increase the card count
Chicago Fire have picked up 51 yellow cards across their 24 games in the MLS this season (2.1 per game), while averaging 12.9 fouls committed per game. Usually, these numbers would drop in home games, but Chicago are a unique case in that they have struggled more at home than on the road this season.
The cagey nature of this game could see that continue here, especially if LAFC are able to frustrate Chicago and keep them at bay until the latter stages of the game.
LAFC have actually collected fewer yellow cards than any other side in the MLS this season across both conferences (36 – 1.63 per game). That record could marginally increase here seeing as they are the away side and don’t have a recent record against Chicago to formulate a gameplan from.
LAFC average 12.1 fouls committed per game in the MLS this season, which is comparable to Chicago, so we can expect their card count to increase over the next few weeks as they catch up on games that they missed while at the Club World Cup.
Predictions –
- 2+ Chicago Fire cards @ 1.40
- 4+ Match Cards @ 2.00
By: @AndysBetClubUK
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Matthew Ashton – AMA – Getty / Patrick T. Fallon – AFP
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