Coming off a 3-2 victory over Charlotte FC at Soldier Field last weekend, Chicago Fire FC arrives in the Buckeye State ready for a rematch against FC Cincinnati on Saturday night. Kickoff at TQL Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast across the globe on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. It will be transmitted locally in English on wlsam.com and in Spanish on Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App.
Having celebrated his 75th regular season victory in Major League Soccer last Saturday, Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI tasked with earning the team’s ninth win this season:
- Only one change has been made to the Starting XI that completed a season sweep of Charlotte FC on the lakefront last weekend.
- Defender Leonardo Barroso returns to the Starting XI after starting last Saturday on the bench. The Portuguese defender will start for the fourth time in 10 games with Chicago, two matches after his last start against Philadelphia Union on June 25.
- Sam Rogers remains in the Starting XI for a second consecutive start next to Fire captain Jack Elliott at centerback. The tandem will line up alongside left back Andrew Gutman, who will face his first MLS side for the second time this season and sixth time overall.
- Goalkeeper Jeff Gal will appear in his seventh match this season. The Bartlett, Ill. native will be looking for his fourth win of the year after recording his third against Charlotte FC last week.
- The Homegrown midfield trio of Mauricio Pineda, Sergio Oregel Jr. and Brian Gutiérrez will line up together for the fourth consecutive match and 11th time overall this season. Gutiérrez will hope to score in a second straight game after tallying a career-high seventh goal last Saturday.
- MLS All-Star Philip Zinckernagel starts from the right wing in his 18th match of the season. The Danish winger has a Club-record seven-match goal contribution streak on the road that he hopes to add to in the Queen City, putting him within reach of Josef Martínez’s league record. He will line up opposite Ivorian international Jonathan Bamba.
- Forward Hugo Cuypers starts for the 19th time this season. The Belgian forward will look for his Club-leading 12th goal this season to move into a tie for eighth place in goals scored in Club history, along with Dema Kovalenko, Mike Magee and Damani Ralph.
- Goalkeeper Chris Brady (International duty); defenders Carlos Terán (Lower Body), Justin Reynolds (Head) and Christopher Cupps (Lower Body); and midfielders Rominigue Kouamé (Lower Body), Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury) and David Poreba (Lower Body) are also unavailable for selection today.
- Available off the bench are goalkeeper Bryan Dowd; defenders Jonathan Dean, Omar González and Chase Gasper; midfielders Maren Haile-Selassie, Omari Glasgow, Dje D’Avilla and Sam Williams; and forward Tom Barlow.
