Chicago Fire FC vs Colorado Rapids Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - MLS

Chicago Fire FC travel to Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday night holding fourth place in the Eastern Conference, while the Colorado Rapids, seventh in the West and level on points with the side below them, need a result to protect their playoff seeding.

The Matchup

Colorado's season splits cleanly in two, and Chicago have to face the good half. The Rapids are 10-3-3 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, where they have scored 29 goals and conceded 15, and they arrive unbeaten in five matches. The catch is how those five ended: a 1-0 win over Vancouver Whitecaps is surrounded by four draws, 1-1 and 2-2 at home to San Jose Earthquakes and Minnesota United FC, 0-0 at Portland Timbers, and 2-2 at San Jose on Wednesday.

Colorado keep not losing, and keep not winning. Chicago's attack is the most dangerous one they have hosted in weeks. The Fire have scored 57 goals this season, Maren Haile-Selassie leads the side with 12 of them and scored again in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Orlando City SC, and Robert Lewandowski has 6 goals since arriving in July.

Neither club has named its side yet. The expectation is Chicago keeping the front three from Wednesday, Haile-Selassie and Philip Zinckernagel either side of Lewandowski, with Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Dje D'Avilla available again after both served suspensions in midweek.

For Colorado, the expectation is Paxten Aaronson, the Rapids' top scorer with 7 goals, behind Donavan Phillip again, and Nico Hansen in goal, because Zack Steffen is out with a shoulder injury. Colorado are also without full backs Reggie Cannon, who is injured, and Kosi Thompson, who is suspended after starting at San Jose on Wednesday.

Key Factors

Chicago's threat is spread in a way Colorado's is not. Haile-Selassie scored on Wednesday, Zinckernagel scored in the 3-2 win at Atlanta United FC last Saturday, and Jonathan Bamba came off the bench against Orlando to score one and set up another, so Gregg Berhalter has a finisher in form on every line of his attack. Colorado's answer runs through Aaronson almost alone, and the absences behind him matter: with Steffen out and Cannon and Thompson both missing from the back line, the Rapids are defending home turf with a reserve goalkeeper and a reshuffled right side against a Chicago attack that has scored 57 goals this season.

The counterpoint is this building. Colorado have lost only three times at home all season and conceded 15 goals in 16 home matches, Chicago's own away record is an even 6-5-5 with 27 goals conceded, and the Fire have the altitude trip to make on three days of rest after Wednesday's draw.

Chicago's last five are a draw and a win around losses to Philadelphia Union and New England Revolution, not the run of a side that wins wherever it goes. If Colorado's home shape holds the way it held Vancouver, Chicago's edge in talent turns into a long, frustrating night.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.