MLS Pick ‘Em 2015: Week 19 – Houston Dynamo v. Chicago Fire
Last week, the Timbers surprised even the experts who picked them by walloping the Seattle Sounders 4-1. Jeff and I continued our assault on the top position while Russ hit a 4-game skid. Will he get back on track this week, or will this be the week he gets caught? Let’s look at the standings:
| Player | Points | Correct Outcome | Correct Score | Incorrect |
| Russ McKenzie | 15 | 9 | 3 | 10 |
| Jeff Krause | 12 | 10 | 1 | 9 |
| Joseph Goldstein | 12 | 8 | 2 | 11 |
| Eric Walcott | 11 | 11 | 0 | 8 |
| Alec Rivera | 10 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| Ned Joyce | 7 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
| Michael Norton | 5 | 5 | 0 | 14 |
| John Richan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 15 |
This week, the Chicago Fire travel to Houston to take on the Houston Dynamo. Both teams are struggling to find consistency and have found themselves well out of playoff position. Houston is still learning their new identity under first year manager Owen Coyle, while Frank Yallop seems to be continuing the slow build at Chicago like he had at San Jose. Houston will be without some of their best players (Giles Barnes, Boniek Garcia, and Jermaine Taylor) to international duty and Chicago will be missing David Accam and Shaun Maloney to injury, and Joevin Jones to international duty. Chicago will be boosted by the potential returns of Patrick Nyarko and Mike Magee, both of whom played midweek in the U.S. Open Cup.
| Expert | Pick | Comments |
| Joseph Goldstein
Analyst
|
HOU (2-1) |
Houston may have had trouble earning results this year, but that won’t be true at home against a poor Chicago team. Chicago pulls one back to make it respectable, but they will be second best on the night, even with Houston’s absences. |
| Eric Walcott
Staff Writer
|
HOU (2-0) |
Houston dominates a Fire team that’s really struggling right now. |
| Alec Rivera
Department Head
|
HOU (2-0) |
Chicago wishes they could put the Fire out. |
| Jeff Krause
Senior Editor
|
Draw (1-1) | Both teams struggling this year, and the Fire haven’t won on Houston’s pitch since 2007. This one has draw written all over it. |
| Russ McKenzie
Department Head
|
Draw (0-0) | Fire are spiraling, and Houston will be bored. Snooze central. |
| Michael Norton
Editor
|
HOU (2-1) |
On field, this is your run-of-the-mill cellar battle. Even without Brad Davis, Houston should take it. Dynamo fans are counting down the days until Cubo. As for the Fire, uh, #PrayForChicharito to make up for JJ. |
| Ned Joyce
Contributor
|
HOU (2-1) |
This would be an onslaught if Davis was there. Chicago has looked ugly and will lose ugly in this one |
Main Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
