Listen up soccer enthusiasts, we have an interesting matchup between San Jose Earthquakes and Chicago Fire. Now, here's the breakdown.
The Earthquakes have two goalkeepers, William Yarbrough and Jacob Jackson, with ratings of 6.93 and 5.80 respectively - a bit mixed, if you ask me. On the other side of the pitch, Fire's goalkeeper, Chris Brady, has a slightly lower rating than Yarbrough at 6.58. Not the sturdiest defense, but hey, no one's perfect.
San Jose seems to be relying heavily on Cristian Espinoza, Tanner Beason and Carlos Akapo. Espinoza is certainly on the ball with a 7.24 rating, but Beason and Akapo seem to be struggling a little, ratings diving to 7.08 and 6.90. Fire, on the other hand, has Maren Haile-Selassie, Brian Gutierrez and Gastón Giménez in their corner, pulling in impressive numbers. Haile-Selassie in particular stomps Espinoza with his 7.62 rating.
Now, let's get our hands dirty and talk about the gritty past performances. The Fire seems to be on a bit of a hot streak with wins against the likes of Philadelphia Union and LA Galaxy. Meanwhile, it seems like the Earthquakes can't shake off their losing rhythm.
Looking at the regular season records, Fire has a win-draw-loss record of 5-6-10 which, while not setting the world on fire, looks like a cool summer breeze compared to Earthquakes’ disappointing 3-2-16.
All factors considered, Chicago Fire appears to be the stronger team. Sure, their goalkeeper is slightly weaker, but it's not exactly the Battle of Thermopylae. Their top players come out swinging and their win-draw-loss record is just the spice on this soccer hotdog.
Albert’s Prediction: Chicago Fire by 1