- Chicago Fire have conceded 2.20 goals per game on their road games in MLS 2025, shipping 22 in 10 away games.
- Chicago Fire have won three and lost two of their last five games.
Fire are firing, but Firepower is Cincinnati’s secret weapon
In the battle to win the silverware, our FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire prediction favors the home side, as FC Cincinnati have the edge over Chicago Fire, who remain inconsistent even after Gregg Berhalter’s year of experience at the helm since October 2024.
The Fire are making progress and have registered six wins in ten MLS 2025 road games so far, but the four defeats and zero draws suggests there’s still a consistency problem that Berhalter needs to sort out.
Chicago Fire are reactive in nature and rely on individual creativity to break down opponents when they play with discipline, which can be a problem when their players are caught out of position or there is a lack of tempo in the game.
Berhalter has experimented with some tactical ideas, but he still needs to get the balance right and find consistency in his team’s midfield and defensive line.
By contrast, Pat Noonan has a clear vision of what Cincinnati need to do and they have been executing it well since he joined in December 2021.
This FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire preview shows that the Orange and Blue’s style of collective pressing and attacking from the front has always been to play with high tempo and directly, but they seemed to lose the plot a bit until Noonan’s return.
Their recent run has seen the high-pressing, direct style get back on track and should spell danger for Chicago Fire.
Orange and Blue are on a roll
Cincinnati can boast the third-best record in the MLS 2025 with 39 points from 20 games, while Chicago Fire are 13th with 28 from 19.
The latest FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire odds favor Cincinnati heavily for Saturday’s matchup at -149 with Chicago Fire +340 underdogs, which may represent some value for the visitors. But we like Cincinnati’s chances of securing the victory in this one given their momentum and the likelihood that the Fire will be a mess when pressed and pushed back by the hosts.
Cincinnati have won 5, drawn 2 and lost only 1 at home this season, but a failure to record a win in their last two at TQL Stadium looks a little out of character for the home side.
In the last head-to-head meeting, our FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire prediction was correct as Cincinnati took the spoils away from home 3-2 in MLS 2025 two months ago and while this is not a classic MLS rivalry, the stakes are high for both teams with Cincinnati in the hunt for silverware and Chicago Fire searching for consistency and a playoff berth.
Cincinnati’s main man Evander Ferreira has eleven MLS goals this year in 18 appearances – the same number as Fire’s leading striker Hugo Cuypers.
Punters should look to both goals markets
However, the both teams to score market could offer some extra value in this game as the average of 0.5 goals a game in the five head-to-head meetings held in Cincinnati suggests these games are often close. Cincinnati score on average 1.75 goals at home and concede 1.12 while the Fire have shipped 2.20 on the road.
Philip Zinckernagel is a quality player with some creative license within Chicago’s system and he has registered four assists in the Fire’s last 13 goals – more than any other player on the team. The best FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire betting tips suggest that Cincinnati and Chicago should provide plenty of action, but we’re going with the momentum of the stronger side right now to push it in the right direction, which should favour the Cincinnati hosts in our latest FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire prediction.
