Fans are used to strange things happening in MLS. Odd calls, peculiar weather, ghost transfers. But St. Louis City have had a week that even Don Garber would call weird.\u00a0 And it ain’t over yet as we get one more Chicago Fire v St Louis City match on Saturday. So let’s dig in.<\/p>\n
Or it will have been weird by the time they take the pitch on Saturday in Chicago. For starters, St. Louis City will be kicking off Saturday\u2019s match earlier than any other game in their entire MLS history (which, admittedly, is only ten games and nothing compared to some of the games in the bubble \u2013 remember that? \u2013 but still). Kickoff is scheduled for 12:09 at Soldier Field, so, you know, put an alert in your phone to switch over from the Premier League so you don\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n
Then you\u2019ve got the fact that these two teams will play each other twice in five games, despite never having faced each other before this week. So that\u2019s<\/em> weird. In two different stadiums. Also weird. Then there\u2019s the fact that while all this was going on, St. Louis City\u2019s match against LAFC, which was supposed to happen at the end of this month was moved to July because LA beat the Philadelphia Union to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League final (which created a scheduling conflict). And while that\u2019s not unheard of in soccer, it does mean that St. Louis City can look forward to a July week in which they will have to play back-to-back games at BMO arenas, four days and 2500 miles apart (July 8th<\/sup> at BMO Field<\/em> in Toronto, July 12th<\/sup> at BMO stadium<\/em> in LA). Weeeeeeird.<\/p>\n But perhaps the weirdest thing about this week is that, sort of technically, St Louis City is still in the middle of their game against Dallas from last <\/strong>Saturday<\/em>. Because that scoreless draw was postponed at the 50-minute mark by what the authorities were officially calling \u201cinclement weather\u201d.<\/p>\n Weird, weirder, weirdest.<\/p>\n So with all that as context, what can fans really expect out of the team?<\/p>\n As of this writing, the Moneyline at DraftKings is Chicago Fire -110, Draw +265, St Louis +260, and the DNB is Chicago Fire -220, St. Louis City +175. So either way you slice it, they expect St. Louis City to lose. But why? ESPN\u2019s power rankings<\/a> has St. Louis at sixth (which is where they were last week) and Chicago at 23rd<\/sup> (which is five slots lower than they were on May 1st<\/sup><\/a>.) Meanwhile, MLSSoccer.com\u2019s Power Rankings<\/a> has St. Louis City at eighth and the Fire at 24th<\/sup> which is hardly any better from Chicago\u2019s perspective. So what gives? What do the gamblers believe that the sportswriters don\u2019t? Well\u2026<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> What Does It Mean That St. Louis City Lost<\/a><\/p>\n Well, Chicago has a new coach. Sort of. After sacking Ezra Hendrickson midweek<\/a>, the team elevated assistant Frank Klopas<\/a> who coached the team over a decade ago. So perhaps the gamblers are expecting a \u201cnew manager bounce<\/a>\u201d to have an impact on the match. That, combined with the fact that the Fire have already beaten St. Louis once this week<\/a>, AND that the Fire are playing at home (their real home, Soldier Field, not Seat Geek Stadium in Bridgeview, which, actually was their old<\/em> home when it was called Toyota Park. Weird, right?). Maybe they think all that adds up to tip the scales in Chicago\u2019s favor. Perhaps.<\/p>\n Joao Klauss is still<\/em> injured for St. Louis<\/a>, which means the attack will continue to suffer. The team hasn\u2019t scored more than one goal since the \u201ctornado match\u201d against Cincinnati on April 15th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n Too little, too late. But what a goal from @MiggyCity<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/j3uHOsGZ8B<\/a><\/p>\n — St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) May 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nLet\u2019s Look at Some Numbers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What\u2019s New?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What\u2019s Old?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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