Two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference are set to face off on Sunday with the Chicago Fire heading down to Florida to meet Orlando City SC (7:30 pm ET; FS1, FOX Deportes in US | MLS LIVE in Canada).
The Fire are on a four-game winning streak and they now sit on 24 points while Orlando got their first win in a month on Wednesday night, beating D.C. United2-0 at home.
One of the keys to the Fire's run has been the play of winger David Accam. While he was the key player for the Fire in his first two seasons, the amount of attacking opportunities he's had in 2017 have increased due to the improvement in players around him. He has seven goals and four assists in under 1,000 minutes so far.
With these kind of performances, Accam could find his way back on to the Ghanaian national team. A player he will be facing off against on Sunday, who possesses similar gifts in terms of speed, is Colombian forward Carlos Rivas.
After two disappointing seasons with Orlando, Rivas has finally found some consistency under Jason Kreis. After making just 21 starts in his first two seasons, the 23-year-old has already made 11 in 2017. This has helped to record seven combined goals and assists (2 G, 5 A), matching his career high.
When comparing the two using the Audi Player Index, it's clear that Accam has had the better season. The Fire winger sits 18th in the Audi Index Player Award ranking, averaging 461 points per game, while Rivas is all the way down at 98th, averaging 303 points.
Taking a closer look, it looks like Accam has been the better passer of the two despite having fewer assists. Prior to Wednesday's game, Accam was averaging 111 points per game due to successful passes in the opposition half while Rivas was at just 54. Rivas did have the advantage on goals from inside the box.
Both will look to continue their fine form in a crucial Eastern Conference matchup.
