Chicago Fire FC wraps up a five-game road trip in our nation’s capital in a rematch against D.C. United. Kickoff at Audi Field is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast across the globe on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. The match will be transmitted locally in English on wlsam.com and in Spanish on Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App.
Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI tasked with closing out the road trip with a league-high sixth win away from home:
- Chicago will see five changes to the Starting XI that defeated Orlando City SC 3-1 in the Sunshine State last Saturday.
- Goalkeeper Jeff Gal will make his second start of the season filling in for Chris Brady, who recently joined the U.S. Men’s National Team ahead of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Gal will hope to record his second win after earning his first in Chicago’s win against Atlanta United FC on May 10 at Soldier Field.
- Defender Omar González will make his first start for Chicago Fire FC, replacing Homegrown defender Christopher Cupps, who earned a call-up to the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team. The veteran will make the 267th start of his career in Major League Soccer, breaking a tie for 12th among active players in matches started with Seattle midfielder Cristian Roldan.
- Midfielder Kellyn Acosta will check in for Mauricio Pineda (yellow card accumulation) in his ninth appearance with Chicago this year. He will share the midfield with Rominigue Kouamé, who makes his second start in a row, and Philip Zinckernagel, who shifts into the middle of the pitch in place of Homegrown midfielder Sergio Oregel Jr. (international duty).
- Maren Haile-Selassie will slot into the right wing for Chicago, making his first start of the year in MLS play. The Swiss midfielder has two assists in 200 minutes of regular season play this year, but has one goal and two assists in two full matches in the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
- Tom Barlow will make his first start of the year at the center forward position. The St. Louis native will appear in his 12th match of 2025 in place of Hugo Cuypers (lower body), who misses his first match since October 2, 2024. Winger Jonathan Bamba will join Barlow and Haile-Selassie in the front three in his 16th start of the year.
- Joining González in the backline is defender Jack Elliott, who starts his 15th game of 2025 and will wear the captain’s armband for the 11th time from this regular season. Fullbacks Andrew Gutman and Jonathan Dean complete the backline with their 16th and 10th starts, respectively, and for the ninth time together in regular season play.
- Like Brady, Cupps and Oregel Jr., winger Omari Glasgow is unavailable today due to international duty, starring with the Guyana Men’s National Team in FIFA World Cup qualifying.
- Beside Pineda and Cuypers, defender Carlos Terán (Lower Body) and midfielders Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury), David Poreba (Lower Body) and Dje D’Avilla (Not Due to Injury) are also unavailable for selection today.
- Available off the bench are goalkeeper Bryan Dowd; defenders Leonardo Barroso, Sam Rogers and Chase Gasper; midfielders Brian Gutiérrez, Sam Williams and Vitaliy Hlyut; and forward Jason Shokalook.
