Chicago Fire FC vs Columbus Crew SC, 2018
Overview
Match Preview
Chicago Fire FC vs Columbus Crew SC — MLS .
- Chicago Fire FC 26 games · 42 pts (2026/26)
- Columbus Crew SC 27 games · 29 pts (2026/26)
Match Details
- Referee Armando Villarreal
- Referee Fotis Bazakos
- Referee Robert Sibiga
- Referee Adam Garner
- Referee Thomas Zablocki
17 games this season
🟨 2.6/game
⚽ 9.9 goals/game
Standings
| # | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville SC | 27 | 60 |
| 2 | Internacional CF Miami | 27 | 46 |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 27 | 46 |
| 4 | Charlotte FC | 27 | 43 |
| 5 | Chicago Fire FC | 26 | 42 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | 27 | 39 |
| 7 | Orlando City SC | 27 | 34 |
| 8 | New York City FC | 27 | 33 |
| 9 | FC Cincinnati | 26 | 33 |
| 10 | New York Red Bulls | 26 | 33 |
| 11 | D.C. United SC | 26 | 30 |
| 12 | Columbus Crew SC | 27 | 29 |
| 13 | Toronto FC | 27 | 29 |
| 14 | Atlanta United FC | 27 | 27 |
| 15 | Montreal Impact FC | 27 | 24 |
| 16 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 26 | 50 |
| 17 | FC Dallas | 27 | 47 |
| 18 | San Jose Earthquakes | 27 | 45 |
| 19 | St. Louis City | 26 | 44 |
| 20 | Houston Dynamo | 27 | 44 |
| 21 | Los Angeles FC | 28 | 41 |
| 22 | Colorado Rapids SC | 27 | 36 |
| 23 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 28 | 36 |
| 24 | Seattle Sounders FC | 26 | 35 |
| 25 | San Diego FC | 27 | 32 |
| 26 | Portland Timbers | 27 | 32 |
| 27 | Real Salt Lake | 27 | 32 |
| 28 | Austin FC | 27 | 31 |
| 29 | Minnesota United FC | 27 | 29 |
| 30 | Sporting Kansas City | 26 | 21 |
Head-to-Head
Recent Form
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Aug | Columbus Crew SC | H | 1–1 | D |
| 18 Aug | Montreal Impact FC | A | 1–2 | L |
| 12 Aug | New York Red Bulls | H | 0–1 | L |
| 05 Aug | Real Salt Lake | A | 1–2 | L |
| 28 Jul | Toronto FC | A | 0–3 | L |
| 21 Jul | Toronto FC | H | 1–2 | L |
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Aug | Chicago Fire FC | A | 1–1 | D |
| 19 Aug | Atlanta United FC | A | 1–3 | L |
| 11 Aug | Houston Dynamo | H | 1–0 | W |
| 28 Jul | New York Red Bulls | A | 3–2 | W |
| 21 Jul | Orlando City SC | H | 3–2 | W |
| 14 Jul | New York City FC | A | 0–2 | L |
Season Stats
| Chicago Fire FC | Columbus Crew SC | |
|---|---|---|
| #5 | Position | #12 |
| 42 | Points | 29 |
| 26 | Played | 27 |
| 12 / 6 / 8 | W / D / L | 8 / 5 / 14 |
| 46 | Scored | 39 |
| 38 | Conceded | 43 |
| +8 | GD | -4 |
| 1.62 | PPG | 1.07 |
| 46% | Win % | 30% |
Key Stats
47%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (19 games)
H2H (19 games)
53%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
31%
Clean Sheets
Chicago Fire FC this season
Chicago Fire FC this season
22%
Clean Sheets
Columbus Crew SC this season
Columbus Crew SC this season
Chicago Fire FC are 5th (42 pts). Columbus Crew SC are 12th (29 pts).
Goal Timing (This Season)
Chicago Fire FC
0-15
7/2
16-30
7/5
31-45
3/8
46-60
4/6
61-75
8/–
76+
3/9
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Columbus Crew SC
0-15
3/6
16-30
4/4
31-45
6/6
46-60
6/2
61-75
3/4
76+
5/6
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Top Scorers (This Season)
Chicago Fire FC
| Hugo Cuypers | 11 G | |
| Maren Haile-Selassie | 8 G | 3 A |
| Philip Zinckernagel | 5 G | 4 A |
Columbus Crew SC
| Diego Rossi | 6 G | 1 A |
| Wessam Abou Ali | 5 G | 1 A |
Events
Match Events
- 0' The referee blows the starting whistle. The fans are roaring. The teams are ready for the match. Chicago Fire FC is hosting Columbus Crew SC for another epic battle.
- 5' Although teams showed high tempo form the start, they seem to slow down a bit. Both sides really need to catch a fire. Otherwise, we have another goalless match.
- 10' A quiet spell here at . Columbus Crew SC seem content sitting deep and soaking up pressure.
- 15' Not even hints on scoring a goal over the last 15 minutes.
- 20' will be watching from the dugout nervously. His Chicago Fire FC side need to improve if they are to claim all three points.
- 25' Columbus Crew SC fans have not had much to celebrate tonight. Their side is struggling to get forward.
- 30' Matchday of the Array and both teams know exactly what is at stake tonight.
- 35' Spectators do not have much to choose from both teams. The sides had several scoring chances but they still need a bit more than just a sight of a goal.
- 40' Chicago Fire FC started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 40.
- 45' Raheem Edwards, a Canada , has 0 bookings this season and will need to keep his discipline tonight.
- 50' Brandon Vincent has been relatively quiet despite scoring 2 goals in his last 283 appearances.
- 55' The 27-year-old Djordje Mihailovic has been sensational this season — 1 goals and 3 assists is a remarkable return.
- 60' Spectators are craving for more action. Both teams play very cautiously. They need to put some more energy.
- 65' Artur is a natural and has been asked to do a very specific job for Chicago Fire FC tonight.
- 70' A moment of individual brilliance could settle this. Both teams are waiting for that decisive action.
- 75' We are waiting for someone to take the initiative. Who will be the first to commit to attack?
- 80' The teams are not in a rush to score plenty of goals. It might look strange considering Chicago Fire FC that had 283 games and scored 406 goals.
- 85' The midfield battle is intense right now. Both Chicago Fire FC and Columbus Crew SC are fighting for every inch of the pitch.
- 90' Milton Valenzuela is putting in a real shift tonight. He has covered more ground than anyone else for Chicago Fire FC so far.
- Game over. The scoreline of 1-1 tells the full story of an entertaining encounter.
Lineups
Chicago Fire FC Lineups
Starting XI
- 22
- 31
- 23
- 7
- 30
- 3
- 13
- 6
- 4
- 8
- 14
Bench
-
10
Aleksandar Katai ↑ 60'
-
21
Alan Gordon ↑ 90'
- 18
- 45
- 26
- 20
Coach
Veljko Paunovic
Columbus Crew SC Lineups
Starting XI
- 19
- 25
- 11
- 6
- 7
- 23
- 8
-
2
Ricardo Clark ↓ Niko Hansen 57'
-
9
Justin Meram ↓ Federico Higuain 57'
- 3
-
22
Gaston Sauro ↓ Patrick Mullins 81'
Bench
- 4
-
10
Federico Higuain ↑ 57'
- 16
-
32
Patrick Mullins ↑ 81'
- 24
-
28
Niko Hansen ↑ 57'
- 13
Coach
Gregg Berhalter
H2H
H2H Top Scorers
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Gyasi Zardes | 8 |
| Cucho Hernandez | 3 |
| Derrick Etienne | 3 |
| Jacen Russell-Rowe | 3 |
| Diego Rossi | 3 |
| Brian Gutierrez | 2 |
| Djordje Mihailovic | 2 |
| Juan Hernandez | 2 |
Head to Head
Chicago Fire FC Form
Columbus Crew SC Form
2018-08-23
Chicago Fire FC
1–1
Columbus Crew SC
D
2018-08-19
Atlanta United FC
3–1
Columbus Crew SC
L
2018-08-11
Columbus Crew SC
1–0
Houston Dynamo
W
2018-07-28
New York Red Bulls
2–3
Columbus Crew SC
W
2018-07-21
Columbus Crew SC
3–2
Orlando City SC
W
2018-07-14
New York City FC
2–0
Columbus Crew SC
L
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
2 / 4
1.56
Chicago Fire FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.29
Columbus Crew SC xG
I would bet for:
Chicago Fire FC or Columbus Crew SC 72% + Both teams to score 58%
Match Result
✗ WrongActual: Draw
Both Teams to Score
✓ Correct
Avg goals/match: 2.85
Actual: Yes — both scored
Over / Under Goals
✗ O/U 2.5| Line | Over | Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ± 0.5 | 92% |
|
8% |
| ± 1.5 | 78% |
|
22% |
| ± 2.5 | 54% |
|
46% |
| ± 3.5 | 32% |
|
68% |
| ± 4.5 | 17% |
|
83% |
Double Chance
Chicago Fire FC or Draw
68%
Draw or Columbus Crew SC
60%
Chicago Fire FC or Columbus Crew SC
72%
Half-Time Result
✓ CorrectActual: Draw at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
1 – 1
Actual
2 – 1
8.7%
1 – 0
8.1%
0 – 0
7.6%
1 – 2
7.2%
2 – 0
6.9%
0 – 1
6.5%
2 – 2
5.7%
0 – 2
4.8%
3 – 1
4.5%
3 – 0
3.5%
1 – 3
3.1%
Asian Handicap — Chicago Fire FC
| Handicap | Chicago Fire FC covers | Push | Columbus Crew SC covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 9% | — | 91% |
| -2 | 9% | 13% | 78% |
| -1.5 | 22% | — | 78% |
| -1 | 22% | 20% | 58% |
| -0.5 | 42% | — | 58% |
| +0.5 | 70% | — | 30% |
| +1 | 70% | 17% | 14% |
| +1.5 | 86% | — | 14% |
| +2 | 86% | 9% | 5% |
| +2.5 | 95% | — | 5% |
Clean Sheet
Chicago Fire FC keeps clean sheet
28%
✓
Columbus Crew SC keeps clean sheet
22%
✓
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.