Chicago Fire FC hits the road Saturday night in Houston against the Dynamo looking for a second consecutive win after taking down D.C. United at home last weekend.
Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson and his side will play three matches in the span of nine days, beginning tonight in Texas before returning home midweek vs. Philadelphia Union, followed by a trip to the Bay Area to face the San Jose Earthquakes on Independence Day weekend.
The Fire most recently played the Dynamo back in 2020, a 4-0 thrashing at Soldier Field for the home side. This will be the first time that Chicago travels to Houston since August of 2019, when the Fire came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a Nemanja Nikolić strike in first-half stoppage time.
Tonight's nationally-televised match kicks off at 7 p.m. CT, with coverage available on UniMás, TUDN, Univision Radio, and an English stream on Twitter. Keep an eye out on the touchline for Fire legend Zach Thornton, who is currently serving as the Dynamo's goalkeeper coach.
Get the details on tonight's just-released Fire starting XI below:
- Only one change has been made to the starting lineup from the Fire's last outing against D.C. United with Carlos Terán replacing the injured Wyatt Omsberg in central defense.
- Terán links up with captain Rafael Czichos centrally, while Jonathan Bornstein lines up out wide opposite Boris Sekulić. Saturday marks Terán's fourth start of the season.
- In midfield, Brian Gutiérrez and Stanislav Ivanov continue to spell the injured Jairo Torres (left hip) and Xherdan Shaqiri. The Swiss Designated Player was a late scratch for tonight's game due to an illness. Gutiérrez receives his eighth start of the campaign, while Ivanov will make his 11th appearance in the starting lineup this season.
- Schaumburg, Ill., native Chris Mueller joins Gutiérrez and Ivanov in attacking midfield, making his fifth straight start.
- Supporting the trio will be Gastón Giménez and Federico Navarro, who line up alongside one another in deep-lying midfield for the fourth-straight outing.
- Forward Kacper Przybyłko leads the attacking unit this evening, looking for his fourth goal of the year. Back in 2019 while playing for the Union, Przybyłko scored the opener in a 2-1 victory over Houston.
- In goal, 18-year-old 'keeper Gabriel Slonina takes his usual spot between the sticks, making his 16th start of the season and aiming for a second straight clean sheet and seventh in 2022.
- Available to Hendrickson as substitutions tonight are goalkeeper Spencer Richey, defender Andre Reynolds II, defender Jhon Espinoza, midfielder Javier Casas Jr., midfielder Alex Monis, forward Jhon Durán, forward Fabian Herbers, and forward Chinonso Offor.
- Defender Kendall Burks (right knee), midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (illness), defender Wyatt Omsberg (left foot), defender Miguel Navarro (health & safety protocols), defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda (health & safety protocols), and midfielder Jairo Torres (left hip) are unavailable for selection tonight.
Get a look at Houston's starting lineup below as it becomes available:
