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Steffen Schmidt - July 27, 2023
Minnesota vs Chicago Fire
Leagues Cup
Date: 28 July 2023, Friday
Kick-off at 01:30 UK / 02:30 CET
Venue: Allianz Field (Saint Paul).
Minnesota got off to an amazing start to their 2023 Leagues Cup campaign, beating Mexican side Puebla 4-0 on Sunday evening.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Emanuel Reynoso bagged two goals each on the occasion in what ended up as a completely one-sided affair in favor of the MLS outfit.
We must praise Minnesota’s attacking line in general, especially with the addition of Teemu Pukki who is yet to show his full worth after completing a move from Norwich City.
Minnesota are one foot in the knockout phase of the competition and they’ll have a nice chance to confirm it on Thursday evening in the home clash against Chicago Fire.
The visitors will, however, have something to say as well in this game, following their tremendous series of results in recent weeks.
Chicago joined the battle for the top-seven finish in the Eastern Conference standings in the MLS with a streak of three successive league wins.
Head coach Fotios Klopas can be especially satisfied with the defensive displays his men have shown of late, keeping their net untouched in each of the outings in the process.
Each of these wins has come on the home turf, though, but we still have to mention that Chicago Fire have only lost two of the last seven away fixtures across competitions.
The bookmakers see Minnesota as big favorites here but we somehow trust Chicago’s back line which has been very difficult to break down of late. The visitors enter this tie on the back of three consecutive clean sheets and we see the value in backing Chicago to win or draw double chance bet at the 1.90 odds.
Alternatively, we will shoot for the Under 2.5 goals FT bet at the 2.05 odds, expecting Klopas’ troops to keep things quiet at the back in a defensive-minded approach in Saint Paul.
