DC United shall be hoping to continue their unbeaten start to the season on Saturday when they host Chicago Fire at Audi Field.
The visitors are yet to earn three points this season in the opening two matches, but they have also not been defeated, setting up a fixture between two in-form teams.
Match preview
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Hernan Losada's men have started their 2022 campaign in an impressive manner, winning the opening two games, which included a dominant start with a 3-0 victory against Charlotte.
Michael Estrada scored a brace in that match, while Ola Kamara also got himself on the scoresheet, and DC United followed that with another win over Cincinnati due to a 98th-minute penalty.
The black and red had to finish that game with 10 men after Moses Nyeman was sent off, adding further strain to the team, but the club was still able to keep a clean sheet, showcasing their defensive qualities.
Right now, DC United are second-placed in the Eastern Conference, only sitting behind New York Red Bulls due to goal difference, which is something that shall be looking to change this weekend.
The squad missed out on the final series playoffs by a point last season, and they will be hoping to go one step further this time around, having made a strong start to that goal.
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The visitors are yet to earn their first three points within this campaign, but they should have plenty of confidence due to the fact that they are also undefeated.
Chicago Fire have drawn their opening two matches, and both of those ended up being goalless encounters, and those strong defensive performances are something they will want to continue.
Xherdan Shaqiri was a new signing during pre-season, bringing some attacking quality to the team for the new campaign, and he has featured in both matches so far.
Chicago only managed to win nine of their 34 MLS fixtures in 2021, which left the club finishing in 12th place, 13 points behind DC United, which the squad will want to improve upon this time around.
A victory on Saturday could take the team into the top seven, potentially climbing up to third depending on other results, providing all the motivation needed.
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Team News
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DC United will be without Nyeman at the weekend due to suspension, which will lead to at least one change for the red and black, which could lead to a slight formation tweak.
Kamara could be brought in to play as a second striker, bringing a more attacking threat to the team, with Estrada also set to retain his place after his impressive start to the campaign.
Chicago will be sure to feature Shaqiri in the attacking-midfield role on Saturday, having him sit just behind his fellow new signing Kacper Przybylko, who will be hoping to open his account for the team this season.
Having kept a clean sheet in their last outing, Ezra Hendrickson will likely use the same Gabriel Slonina set to retain his place in goal.
DC United possible starting lineup:
Hamid; Najar, Hines-Ike, Birnbaum; Smith, Skundrich, Gressel; Yow, Flores; Estrada, Kamara
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Slonina; Sekulic, Omsberg, Czichos, Navarro; Pineda, Gimenez; Ivanov, Shaqiri, Herbers; Przybylko
We say: DC United 1-0 Chicago Fire
This match brings together two teams that are yet to lose or concede a goal this season, which will likely lead to quite a tight and cagey match between them.
However, DC United do have the home advantage, which should help them, and they have been a lot more confident in front of goal, which could be the difference-maker.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a DC United win with a probability of 50.45%. A win for Chicago Fire had a probability of 25.03% and a draw had a probability of 24.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a DC United win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.57%) and 2-0 (8.84%). The likeliest Chicago Fire win was 0-1 (7.09%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.64%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 3.8% likelihood.
