St. Louis City bid to extend Fire's goal-scoring woes

St. Louis City will be looking to add to the misery of the visiting Chicago Fire as the two Midwestern sides meet on Saturday.

Though St. Louis (2-1-7, 13 points) is unbeaten in its last four matches (1-0-3), wins have been at a premium for a team that won 17 times in their inaugural season in 2023 and finished at the top of the Western Conference standings.

"We like to play angry, whether that's against Chicago, or LAFC, or (FC) Cincinnati, we don't care who the opponent is," St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell said. "We just want to have our signature of the game, because when we apply our signature of the game, then we know we can control the outcomes, usually."

The Fire (2-5-4, 10 points) are on a four-match winless streak (0-2-2), with their last victory a 2-1 triumph April 6 against the Houston Dynamo. Not only have they failed to win in that period, but they haven't scored in a goal drought exceeding 372 minutes (not including stoppage time).

That has turned the pressure up on Frank Klopas, although the Chicago head coach has cut a positive figure despite his team's struggles.

"I feel we're in the right way. I know that doesn't mean anything if you don't get results, but I felt the team has been playing well," Klopas said. "... It's going to be a difficult game, and I think the only thing is (that) we can just prepare really well and just put the guys in a position where they're going to be successful."

Last year, the Fire won both matches between the two sides and both on home soil: a 2-1 victory on May 9, 2023 in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 and 1-0 in MLS play four days later.

St. Louis, tied with Houston last year for the fourth-most regular-season home wins with 11, has yet to lose at home this season (2-0-3). Chicago is winless on the road (0-2-3).

Joao Klauss and Celio Pompeu lead St. Louis in scoring with three goals apiece. Brian Gutierrez has three goals for the Fire, including the team's most recent goal April 6 against Houston.