The Chicago Fire are set to host New York City FC at Soldier Field in a rare matinée game.
The Fire are hoping that the time shift also shifts their fortunes against NYCFC: In 25 meetings against the second club from the country's biggest city, the Fire have just three wins. All have come at home, but the last came back in 2021, when goals from Robert Berić and Federico Navarro combined with a clean sheet from Gaga Slonina for a 2-0 win at Soldier Field.
Yes, that was a long time ago.
That last win over the Pigeons, in a twist of irony, came in the year that NYCFC won MLS Cup. Since then, the Fire have managed two draws against the team, the most recent of which was a 0-0 game in July 2024.
That leaves New York City FC as the only conference opponent that the Fire haven't managed a result against since Gregg Berhalter took the reins of the team ahead of last season, and one of just two, alongside FC Cincinnati, that the Fire haven't beaten in that span.
Is that something that is in the back of the team's mind as they prepared for this one? Not according to Berhalter, who told media on Thursday that "I think every game is its own unique story, right, and we try not to look at the past results as a predictor of future results, right? How do we focus, how do we have a good game plan and how do we engage and play with intensity to win this game? We just played on Tuesday. I think the guys are in good spirits, and it's now about continuing it on in this game."
One thing that will help: The Fire now have a lot more options. Berhalter confirmed that all five of the Fire's players that were away on international duty, from starting goalkeeper Chris Brady to Anzor Mekhabishvili, are back, though only four will be available: Robin Lod suffered an injury while with Finland and will miss more time.
That leaves Lod and André Franco – back in training with the team but not yet match fit ‒ as the only players confirmed out for this game.
That makes this the first opportunity where we can see something close to the full Fire squad, with center back Andreas Hanche-Olsen having arrived after Mekhabishvili departed.
Another thing that will help: The Fire are facing a New York team that has been floundering. In the 10 league games they've played since these sides last met, NYCFC have just one win, a 2-0 victory against a Real Salt Lake team that has also been struggling mightily since the return from the World Cup.
