Chicago Fire vs. FC Cincinnati – MLS, June 23, 2021

The bottom two sides in the Eastern Conference go head-to-head this Wednesday, June 23, with Chicago hosting Cincinnati at Soldier Field.

Both teams have only managed to claim one victory this season, although Cincy has a game in hand over the Fire. Funnily enough, Raphael Wicky’s men are the lowest scorers in the entire league, while Cincinnati has the worst defensive record.

Before we settle on a prediction and betting pick for Wednesday’s basement battle, let’s check out the bookmakers’ odds for Chicago Fire vs. FC Cincinnati.

As you can see, the online sportsbooks are favoring Chicago to win this one. But if I’m totally honest, both sides have been nothing short of dreadful throughout 2021.

Given that the Fire heads into this game on a run of six defeats in seven matches, the prices for the draw and the away win appear to present excellent value here.

Below, I analyze the teams before sharing my Chicago vs. Cincinnati pick.

Believe it or not – Chicago has fired a blank on no fewer than five occasions this year. Having failed to score against RBNY, Philly, DC, Montreal, and Columbus, the Fire officially has the bluntest forward line in Major League Soccer.

After taking just a single point from their opening five matches this term, the Illinois club secured a rare 1-0 victory over Inter Miami last month. However, the win against the Herons failed to spark a resurgence.

Chicago lost to Montreal prior to the break before suffering a 2-0 defeat to Columbus last weekend. Despite recording a whopping 15 shots against the Crew, the Fire failed to register a single attempt on target. That statistic sums up the team perfectly.

On the flip side, Cincinnati’s problems stem from the team’s inability to defend. I mean, Jaap Stam’s men have already conceded 17 goals in seven matches this season – averaging just under 2.5 goals against per game.

Heavy losses to New York City (5-0), Orlando (3-0), and Inter Miami (3-2) were followed by a surprise 2-1 win over Montreal. Since then, Cincy has suffered defeats to New England and Colorado without scoring a goal.

Having conceded a whopping 12 goals across their first four matches this year, Stam’s men can take confidence from the fact they have only let in four goals in their previous three outings. Still, that isn’t a record to be proud of.

The draw is my Chicago Fire vs. FC Cincinnati betting pick, simply because I don’t think that either team is good enough to claim all three points on Wednesday.

In my opinion, odds of 1.64 for the home win are far too low. Chicago isn’t that much better than Cincinnati, so the juicy price for the draw bet feels like a great option here.