Their in the Leagues Cup over, the Fire now have just one competition to focus on – and they're back at it, taking on the Seattle Sounders in a matinée at Lumen Field.
Historically, trips to Cascadia have not been kind to the Fire: The team was winless in the region from 2009, when the Sounders became the first MLS team in the region, through 2022, when the Fire beat the Portland Timbers. A year later, they beat the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place, giving the Fire away victories against two of the three teams in the region.
The Fire, however, have never won in Seattle. Although they played to a 0-0 draw in what was the Fire's first foray to what is now Lumen Field, they have just one other draw in the eight trips to town, including a 2-0 loss in the U.S. Open Cup final in 2011. That win gave the Sounders their third consecutive Open Cup win in just their third season as an MLS team.
That may change this afternoon in Seattle: The Sounders had been on an eight game winless run in MLS play, ending only with a 1-1 draw last Saturday in Cincinnati. That is one of just two results for the Sounders in their past 12 games, with the other being a 3-0 victory in the Leagues Cup over Querétaro, a team that went winless in the tournament. As a result, our model has the Fire as favorites, with a 43% chance of victory to the Sounder's 34%.
In a week where the Fire have already suffered one tough loss, can the team end more than a decade and a half of futility in Seattle and continue their strong league form?
Seattle Sounders
There are several reasons for the Sounders slide after a strong run that saw the team lose just two of their first 15 matches across all competitions in 2026: Until recently, the Sounders were one of MLS's most formidable team. Longtime coach Brian Schmetzer had been getting the most of his squad which has featured remarkably stable core group of longtime veterans.
Still, years of relatively low investment as the league grew around them slowly eroded the Sounder's position: They have gone from being a top team the league to a very good team. They can sometimes beat the top teams – as they did a year ago, defeating Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup final – but they can't do it consistently.
Even when healthy.
In 2026, that has been the biggest issue for the Sounders: They have faced a historic rash of injuries this season, and as it stands now, Pedro de la Vega, Jesús Ferreira, Yeimar, Nikola Petković, Jackson Ragen are all out, with Peter Kingston suspended and Paul Arriola questionable.
And that's after guys are getting back to fitness.
The Sounders have other problems – like the Fire, they could use more creative forces in the attack – but if their season hadn't been derailed by this many injuries, they'd be in a much better place than 13th.
That makes their recent move, a cashfer with Sporting Kansas City to bring over striker Dejan Jovelić all the more confusing. Still, Jovelić represents just the second time this decade that the Sounders have spent over $5 million on an inbound transfer.
A striker may not have bene the biggest position of need ‒ but sometimes, when you see the right one, you just can't say no.
Chicago Fire
The Fire have been playing two games a week and this will be the ninth game they play in August. Every player has been getting more minutes than normal, but key starters – the kind you want on in a must-win situation – have a lot of minutes in recent weeks.
With that many games, it's always an open how much rotation we'll see.
When we had Fire legend Dax McCarty on The Bonfire following the Fire's loss to Monterrey midweek, what rotation he thought Berhalter should do in this one. His answer?
None, predicting that even players like Robert Lewandowski, just past his 38th birthday and who went the full extent Tuesday, will start against Seattle to make it a statement match for the Fire: Yes, we didn't achieve what we hoped in the League's Cup, but we are still a top team in the league this year.
Will he be right? Smarter money is that Berhalter, with an eye towards the remaining games that the Fire have to play, will work to give some of his squad limited minutes, and I wouldn't be surprised if some key pieces didn't make an appearance at all.
If the Fire win regardless, it'll all pay off.
Lineup and Match Information
