Sporting KC vs Chicago Fire prediction, preview, team news and more | MLS 2020
Sporting Kansas City will welcome Chicago Fire to the Children's Mercy Park on Thursday, with three points at stake in the MLS.
The home side come into this fixture on the back of a 2-1 away victory against Houston Dynamo, while Chicago Fire played out a 2-2 draw with Montreal Impact.
Sporting KC currently sit third in the Western Conference, with 23 points from 14 matches, while Chicago Fire are 11th in the Eastern Conference with 16 points from 15 games.
Sporting KC vs Chicago Fire Head-to-Head
The two sides have met on 34 occasions in the past and their head-to-head record is fairly even.
Kansas City were victorious on 13 occasions, scoring 43 goals and conceding 41, while Chicago Fire have 12 victories with nine draws.
The last meeting between the two sides came in July 2019 when an early goal by Yohan Croizet was enough to give Sporting KC a 1-0 home victory.
Sporting KC form guide: L-W-L-L-W
Chicago Fire form guide: D-L-W-W-D
Sporting KC vs Chicago Fire Team News
Sporting KC
The hosts will be without Matt Besler (virus), Luis Martins (virus), and Felipe Leiva (knee) through injury. Gadi Kinda will also be missing after picking up a red card suspension.
Injuries: Matt Besler, Luis Martins, Felipe Leiva
Suspensions: Gadi Kinda
Chicago Fire
The visitors have four players ruled out of their fixture with Sporting Kansas City through injury.
Przemyslaw Frankowski (knock), Kenneth Kronholm (knee), and Jeremiah Gutjahr (knee) will all be missing in action, while Luka Stojanovic (MCL) is a doubt for the clash.
There are no suspension worries for Chicago Fire.
Injuries: Przemyslaw Frankowski, Kenneth Kronholm, Jeremiah Gutjahr
Doubtful: Luka Stojanovic
Suspensions: None
Sporting KC vs Chicago Fire Predicted XI
Sporting KC Predicted XI (4-3-3): Tim Melia; Amadou Dia, Winston Reid, Roberto Puncec, Graham Zusi; Felipe Hernandez, Ilie Sanchez, Gianluca Busio; Khiry Shelton, Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell
Chicago Fire Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Bobby Shuttleworth; Jonathan Bornstein, Francisco Calvo, Mauricio Pineda, Boris Sekulic; Alvaro Medran, Gaston Gimenez; Ignacio Aiseda, Fabian Herbes, Dorde Mihailovic; Robert Beric
Sporting KC vs Chicago Fire Prediction
Both sides' attacking style of play guarantees that there will be goals at both ends and we could be in for a high-scoring fixture in Kansas.
The hosts have been plagued by inconsistency this season but should do enough to get a victory against a poorer Chicago Fire outfit.
Prediction Sporting KC 4-2 Chicago Fire