Chicago Fire FC kicks off a four-game road trip with a visit to the Queen City to face Charlotte FC. Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT; the match will be broadcast across the globe on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, and transmitted locally in English on wlsam.com and in Spanish on Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App.
With a three-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI to face Charlotte:
- Only one change has been made to the Starting XI that earned Chicago’s first win at Soldier Field last Saturday against Atlanta United FC.
- Goalkeeper Chris Brady returns to the Starting XI after serving a one-match suspension. The Homegrown goalkeeper will look for his third clean sheet across all competitions – and the Club’s fourth – after a two-save performance in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup 4-0 win over Detroit City FC on Wednesday, May 7.
- Backing Brady will be Fire captain Jack Elliott and Sam Rogers, who line up next to each other in the backline for the eighth time in Major League Soccer play. The two center backs will work with Jonathan Dean and Andrew Gutman at right and left back, respectively, to continue a streak of three matches without allowing an opponent to score.
- The Homegrown trio of Mauricio Pineda, Sergio Oregel, Jr., and Brian Gutiérrez returns to the Starting XI for the third consecutive MLS match and sixth time all season. In his Fire Homegrown-record 110th start for Chicago, Pineda hope to get within 30 minutes of the 10,000-minute mark in Major League Soccer.
- Looking to return to the league lead in goals scored is Hugo Cuypers, whose eight goals were surpassed by two other players in MLS midweek action. In his 13th start of the season, Cuypers finds himself within two goals of last year’s tally of 10.
- Assisting Cuypers on the front line are wingers Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel, who have started all but one match together this season.
- Defenders Leonardo Barroso (Lower Body), Carlos Terán (Lower Body) and Chase Gasper (Lower Body); and midfielders David Poreba (Lower Body) and Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury) are unavailable for selection today.
- Available off the bench for Berhalter are goalkeeper Jeff Gal; defenders Justin Reynolds and Christopher Cupps; midfielders Rominigue Kouamé, Maren Haile-Selassie, Kellyn Acosta, Omari Glasgow, and Dje D’Avilla; and forward Tom Barlow.
