Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Chicago Fire 7/23/22 - Major League Soccer Picks & Predictions

The Vancouver Whitecaps host the Chicago Fire on Saturday in a MLS inter-conference fixture. Vancouver is 10th in the Western Conference table at 7-5-9 on 26 points with a goal difference in -11. Vancouver battled on the road last Sunday to a 1-1 draw against the Portland Timbers. Vancouver opened the scoring with a goal by Brian White in the 32nd minute, but the Whitecaps could not hold on to the lead after committing a penalty and Portland scored an equalizer in the 82nd minute from the spot to share in the spoils.

Vancouver lost for only the third at home since last August after returning to BC Place following the pandemic. Over that stretch, Vancouver had 12 victories and four draws. Lucas Cavallini is the leading goal scorer for Vancouver with six, while Ryan Gauld and Brian White each have scored three. Cristian Dajame is the leader in assists with three and Deiber Caicedo is second with two.

The Chicago Fire is 12th in the Eastern Conference table at 6-5-10 on 23 points with a goal difference of -6. The Chicago Fire picked up all three points at home last Saturday with a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders. Rafael Czichos scored in the 23rd minute for Chicago and the Fire’s back line and goalkeeper held a clean sheet. Gabriel Slonina made two saves for Chicago.

Chicago has won two straight matches for just the first time since the middle of March. Between those two streaks, Chicago won only two of 15 matches in the MLS with three draws and 10 losses. Kacper Przybylko, Xherdan Shaqiri and John Duran each have three goals to lead Chicago. Brian Gutierrez and Duran are the leaders in assists with three each.