Columbus Crew visit Chicago Fire FC on November 7 with playoff stakes

Columbus Crew travel to face Chicago Fire FC on Saturday, November 7, at 4 p.m. ET, needing a win to avoid a single-elimination wild card game, according to Sports Mole. Scorely's match data lists the venue as SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois, while Sports Mole places the Decision Day regular-season finale at Soldier Field. Columbus Crew sit 8th in the Eastern Conference with 44 points, and Chicago Fire FC are 4th with 55 points, chasing home advantage for the playoffs. Apple TV carries the game.

How are Columbus Crew playing heading into Decision Day?

Columbus Crew arrive with momentum. Under coach Laurent Courtois, Columbus Crew beat FC Cincinnati 2-0, won 4-2 against Toronto FC, beat FC Dallas 2-0 and closed October with a 3-0 win over D.C. United. Columbus Crew's record stands at 13-5-15.

Columbus Crew have scored 55 goals and conceded 49, a goal difference of +6. Taha Habroune leads Columbus with 5 goals in 32 matches, while Dylan Chambost has 9 assists in 29 matches. Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte has made 104 saves, and Sean Zawadzki tops Columbus Crew with 1946 accurate passes.

What form are Chicago Fire FC in before hosting Columbus?

Chicago Fire FC, coached by Gregg Berhalter, lost 3-1 to Philadelphia Union and 1-0 to New England Revolution before beating Atlanta United FC 3-2, drawing 2-2 with Orlando City SC and winning 4-2 at Colorado Rapids. Sports Mole notes the Fire are unbeaten in their recent MLS games but winless in their latest home matches.

Chicago Fire FC hold a 16-7-10 record, with 61 goals scored and 50 conceded. Hugo Cuypers leads Chicago with 13 goals in 11 matches, and Philip Zinckernagel has 11 assists and 98 shots for the Fire.

What is at stake in the Eastern Conference standings?

Chicago Fire FC sit 4th in the East with 55 points. According to Sports Mole, Chicago need a win to secure home advantage, since a draw may not be enough, though an Inter Miami win or draw against Charlotte would still send the Fire through with a home opener.

Columbus Crew are 8th with 44 points and are currently headed for a single-elimination wild card game, which a win in Chicago would avoid. Sports Mole adds that they also need Nashville to beat or tie FC Cincinnati to claim a Best-of-Three spot. With the margin removed, the probabilities give Chicago Fire FC 46%, Columbus Crew 29% and a draw 25%.

Who is out for Chicago Fire FC and Columbus Crew?

Chicago Fire FC get defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi back from injury, according to Sports Mole, but Robin Lod and Sam Rogers remain unavailable. Robert Lewandowski ended a scoreless run off the bench in Chicago Fire FC's 4-2 win at Colorado and also set up Puso Dithejane's goal in that game.

Columbus Crew will be without Wessam Abou Ali and Rudy Camacho, while Brais Méndez, who has 38 shots for Columbus Crew, is a fitness doubt. Sports Mole also highlights Jonathan Bamba, who scored twice last week and has 12 goal contributions this season.

The numbers at Scorely

Team	Last 5
Chicago Fire FC	L 3-1 vs. Philadelphia Union, L 1-0 vs. New England Revolution, W 3-2 vs. Atlanta United FC, D 2-2 vs. Orlando City SC, W 4-2 vs. Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew	W 2-0 vs. FC Cincinnati, L 0-0 vs. St. Louis CITY SC, W 4-2 vs. Toronto FC, W 2-0 vs. FC Dallas, W 3-0 vs. D.C. United

Team	Record
Chicago Fire FC	16-7-10
Columbus Crew	13-5-15

No-vig probability	%
Chicago Fire FC (Home)	46 %
Draw	25 %
Columbus Crew (Away)	29 %

Market-implied probability with the bookmaker margin (7.7%) removed, calculated by Scorely.

Pos	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Nashville SC	33	+44	74
2	Inter Miami CF	33	+21	59
3	New England Revolution	33	+9	58
4	Chicago Fire FC	33	+11	55
8	Columbus Crew	33	+6	44
1	Vancouver Whitecaps	33	+38	61
2	FC Dallas	33	+9	55
3	San Jose Earthquakes	33	+8	52