Chicago Fire vs. DC United – MLS, October 11, 2020

Pressure continues to mount on DC United head coach Ben Olsen following the Black & Red’s fourth straight defeat in midweek. Olsen’s men were crushed 4-1 by New York City on Wednesday, leaving them winless in their previous seven outings.

DC travels to Soldier Field to face Chicago on Sunday, October 11. The Fire was enjoying a three-game unbeaten run before losing to Sporting Kansas City last time out, although the Illinois outfit is still five points ahead of DC in the Eastern Conference standings.

I look at the bookies’ odds before giving my Chicago Fire vs. DC United prediction and betting pick.

The price for the home win (1.50) is very low here. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Chicago is anything special. In fact, the Fire is arguably one of the weakest teams in the Eastern Conference.

The vast odds gap for this game underlines just how bad DC United (5.55) has been lately. The Washington club is bottom of the table with two wins from 16 games, and the prices at 10bet definitely reflect that.

Chicago ended a five-game winless run by securing back-to-back clean-sheet victories at the end of September. The Fire beat Houston Dynamo (4-0) and Atlanta United (2-0) before extending their unbeaten streak to three games with a 2-2 draw against Montreal Impact.

But the good times didn’t last long.

Despite their best efforts, Raphael Wicky’s men were beaten by Sporting Kansas City last time out. Chicago enjoyed the majority of possession and created plenty of goalscoring opportunities at Children’s Mercy Park, yet SKC eventually won 1-0.

Still, the Fire has an ideal chance to return to winning ways against off-form DC on Sunday.

It’s difficult to see how Olsen is going to turn things around at the moment. The Black & Red has been nothing short of woeful throughout 2020, and their results seem to be getting worse as the year goes on.

A 1-0 loss to Nashville kicked off DC’s losing streak a fortnight ago, with a 2-0 defeat to New England Revolution coming shortly after. But their two most recent losses have been humiliating. The Washington club was beaten 4-0 by Atlanta last weekend before suffering a 4-1 defeat to New York City on Wednesday.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that DC has the second-worst defensive record in the Eastern Conference. And when you consider that Olsen’s men are also the third-lowest scorers in the division, it’s hardly a shock that DC is two points adrift at the bottom of the table.

In all honesty, I don’t think the price for the home win is worth bothering with here. The Fire could easily win this game, but given that Chicago is enduring a poor campaign, I don’t think backing the home side is a good idea.

Instead, I’m going with the draw. DC United has been terrible recently, but a trip to Chicago provides the Black & Red with the perfect opportunity to get back on track. Olsen’s men are likely to struggle to win on Sunday, but I can see them snatching a point.