This Saturday, the Fire close out their four game home stand against the New York Red Bulls, a team that was their mirror image for many years. The Red Bulls were, if not perennial contenders, perennially in the playoffs owning the league's longest stretch of postseason appearances, while the Fire were left on the outside looking in.
In 2025, that flipped: A new head coach in Gregg Berhalter and a new style of play that came along with the shift sent the team into the playoffs while the Red Bulls, for the first time since 2009, were left on the outside as a tried-and-tested formula failed to do the trick.
This year, the Fire face higher expectations than simply making the playoffs, with home field advantage in the first round (4th in the conference or higher) widely considered to be a reasonable line in the sand for a successful season — although possibility of achieving much more than that has felt tantalizingly close.
For that to happen, however, the team needs to get results. Including this game against the Red Bulls, the Fire have four games before the World Cup break. A strong stretch – including getting back in the win column after last week's defeat – will put the team a great position at the intermission. A slide, however, will leave the team with questions that would remain unanswered for months.
Sorting out which of those it will be starts with Saturday's matinée, in the first Fire home game of the year with warm weather.
New York Red Bulls
The contrasting parallels between the two clubs go deeper than just results last year — the Fire made it off the back record minutes from academy products, while the Red Bulls, known for an academy that produces like Tyler Adams, instead relied on aging import to carry the load, particularly on offense: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, then 36 years old, was the team's leading scorer (17 G), while Emil Forsberg (who then 33) lead the team in minutes.
This year, that's changed: Of the 11 players with the most minutes on the Red Bulls' squad, three are teenagers, including Julian Hall, the team's leading scorer who turned 18 early in the season, while Choupo-Moting has been shifted to limited minutes off the bench.
The shift was one of a number of significant changes brought about by first-year head coach Michael Bradley, a U.S. Men's National Team legend from his playing days. Bradley spent several of his formative soccer years in Chicagoland while his father Bob Bradley was coaching the Fire in the team's first seasons.
The shift to the so-called "Baby Bulls" under Bradley, who coached the Red Bulls II in MLS Next Pro last season, has coincided with a shift in style of play, finally moving the Red Bulls team away from the "energy drink" defend-and-quick-counter style of play that has characterized the team for the better part of two decades.
Like the Fire under Gregg Berhalter last year, however, defensive issues have gotten in the way of results. The Red Bulls have conceded the second most goals in the league (27, behind Orlando City) and have the league's third-worst goal differential (-11, behind Sporting Kansas City and Orlando City).
Still, you can see what the team is aiming to do in a way that you haven't in years, and even if the results haven't always been there (the team is on currently winless in five league games), the shift has impressed onlookers – including Berhalter, who coached Bradley with the USMNT.
“I have a lot of respect for what Michael's doing," Berhalter said. "Of all the players that I coached, he's one that you clearly see he could have been a coach. I love his pathway. I love how he's vested himself and his career, taking time to be an assistant coach and coaching the second team, and performing really well and getting up to the first team level."
What's impressed him so far? Berhalter says that despite "inconsistencies," "I also see is a ton of potential and really bright spots in their group. When you think about [Julian] Hall up top, really good improvement behind the back line; very quick first couple steps; good finishing; really impressive striker. Someone we were looking at when I was with the national team to call up to the senior squad at such a young age. And then you look at their midfielder [Adri] Mehmeti, who is very calm on the ball; prototypical Spanish number six; plays one, two touches; very smart player. To me, it's really enjoyable to watch those players. The young players – [Matthew] Dos Santos at left back is good on the ball; good passing; good penetrating passer."
Chicago Fire
The Fire have now lost two games in a row across all competitions after losses to St. Louis and FC Cincinnati – the first time that that's happened to the squad in 2026.
In both games, the Fire were in a winning position in the second half and saw the results slip through their fingers – despite, in the case of the game against Cincinnati, playing up a man more than doubling their opponent's expected goals (xG).
Berhalter is well aware of the situation. “For us," the Fire head coach said on Thursday, "the important thing is looking to see a response from the group, right?" Because at the end of the day this is a results business and we didn't get the results we wanted. Now it's about how do we respond against a good Red Bull team, a team that can hurt you if you are not focused.”
The need to focus on individual moments is intentional. "You never know which moment is going to be the deciding moment – so you have to be focused on all of them," Berhalter said.
One way that focus can be maintained is through the guiding presence of veteran leaders – but the Fire will be without at least one veteran player on Saturday, with Berhalter saying that Robin Lod, who left the game in the 2nd half on Saturday after being kicked in the face, had several facial fractures and eye damage. He'll join Leo Barroso and André Franco on the team's injured list.
One experienced player, however, might make his return, with the Fire gaffer confirming Chris Mueller will be available for selection after he suffered a non-contact injury in the team's third game of the year against Columbus.
Lineup and Match Information
