Our prediction for this MLS match:
Sunday’s football game at Exploria Stadium pits together Orlando City and Chicago Fire, the two teams who sit in the opposite halves of the table. The 5th-place Lions are undefeated in the previous four league fixtures, but, no doubt, they want to return to winning ways after sharing the spoils with Inter Miami, Cincinnati, and Nashville. All Gallese, Pato, and Rosell remain in the treatment room, while star midfielder Nani is rated doubtful for the game.
Chicago Fire, on the other hand, continue to struggle on the travels. The visiting team experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a 3-2 loss at Inter Miami, and we do not believe that they are capable of spoiling Orlando’s party at Exploria Stadium. Both Aliseda and Kronholm are sidelined with injuries for the away team, while in-form midfielder Luka Stojanovic should keep his place in the starting line-up.
Highlighted Player (Nani):
Nani is a product of Sporting CP’s famous youth academy. The pacey winger played 58 games for the capital club in Primeira Liga, scoring nine goals and in 2007 he joined Premier League side Manchester United. He signed a five-year deal with the Old Trafford outfit for a fee of €25.5 million.
He joined his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo at Man Utd and it has to be noted that Nani he spent eight seasons at the club. In 2014 he returned to Sporting (loan) and at the end of the 2014/2015 Primeira Liga campaign he moved to Turkish side Fenerbahce.
In 2016 he signed a three-year deal with Valencia for an undisclosed fee. Speaking of his international career, Nani did remarkably well to win the 2016 European Championship trophy with Portugal and it has to be noted that he started against France in the title game. The Portuguese winger won the 2007/2008 Champions League trophy with Manchester United.
Highlighted Team (Chicago Fire):
Based in the suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois, Chicago Fire is a professional soccer club who compete in Major League Soccer. Chicago Fire were founded on October 8, 1997 and one year later they won the MLS Cup by beating D.C. United (2-0) in the title game. The club play their home games at Toyota Park, the venue that was opened on June 11, 2006. Chicago Fire won four U.S. Open Cups (1998, 2000, 2003 and 2006) and in 2009 they were beaten by UANL Tigres in the North American Superliga final.
The likes of Chris Armas, DeMarcus Beasley, Brian McBride, Eric Wynalda and Frank Klopas are some of the notable footballers who played for Chicago Fire in the past. It has to be noted that a number of veterans were part of the club as well: Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Pavel Pardo, Piotr Nowak, Hristo Stoichkov and Lubos Kubik.
The club’s official colors are red and white and they are nicknamed Men in Red. Veljko Paunovic, who won the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup with Serbia, is one of the club’s most famous coaches.