Kansas City v Chicago

Sporting Kansas vs Chicago Fire Preview

Western Conference outfit, Sporting Kansas, play host to Eastern Conference visitors, Chicago Fire, at their Children's Mercy Park on Saturday night with both teams eager to improve upon their fortunes and boost their respective ambitions of a play-off spot in each division.

A poor start to this season saw Sporting Kansas fail to win any of their opening 10 league matches in the MLS which included seven defeats and seriously threatened Sporting Kansas' aspirations of a play-off spot but the hosts have since managed to stage a recovery which has helped them to within a point of the top nine pack.

Just two further defeats within their subsequent 10 matches and picking up five wins and additional points in three draws have helped lift Sporting Kansas within reach of a possible play-off spot and having won four of their last five games on home turf, the hosts look a much better prospect right now.

Recent wins against Minnesota United, Portland Timbers, Dallas and Austin will give Sporting Kansas plenty of confidence for this upcoming tussle.

Chicago Fire head into this upcoming fixture against Sporting Kansas in a slightly better frame of mind as they recorded a welcome and much-needed 2-1 win on the road at Portland Timbers but league wins have been very few and far between for the visitors and indeed, this victory ended a previous dismal run of six games without a win.

Three draws with Atlanta United, New England and Toronto have been outweighed by three defeats to Charlotte, Cincinnati and Columbus Crew respectively, the former two losses being inflicted upon Frank Klopas' side on their travels.

The bigger picture shows Chicago Fire have managed to capture just two wins from their last 12 outings overall, while on the road, the visitors have continued to struggle to pick up positive results as they have registered just one win from their previous seven games, suffering four defeats in the process.

Losses at Atlanta United, Nashville, Charlotte and Cincinnati suggest this upcoming trip to face a rejuvenated Sporting Kansas outfit could end in further disappointment.

Sporting Kansas v Chicago Fire Verdict

Sporting Kansas bring a string of positive results into Saturday night's clash and the hosts will certainly be feeling a whole lot better about themselves and their now improved prospects of achieving a play-off spot.

In addition, history also appears to favour Sporting Kansas as the hosts have won each of their previous six meetings on home turf against Chicago Fire and this trend could well continue here at their Children's Mercy Park on Saturday night.

Therefore, our main bet will be Sporting Kansas win @ 1.72

Other side bets worth considering:

Sporting Kansas win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.62

Correct score: Sporting Kansas 3-0 @ 15.00