Chicago Fire FC is back on the road Wednesday night as they travel east to take on New York City FC at Yankee Stadium.
Interim head coach Frank Klopas' side is unbeaten in three-straight matches coming out of Saturday night's 1-0 win against Real Salt Lake in front of 31,308 fans at Soldier Field. The Fire and NYCFC have met twice already this season, first in a 0-0 draw at Soldier Field on Aug. 4, then again on Sept. 29 in a 2-0 Fire win at SeatGeek Stadium. NYCFC currently reside in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, with 44 points through 31 games played.
Tonight's match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT, with coverage available on WGN-TV, CFFC Live, TUDN 1200 AM, and MLS LIVE's out-of-market package on ESPN+. Ahead of the opening whistle, get the details on how Klopas will deploy his squad in the lineup notes below:
- Zero changes have been made to the starting lineup that beat Real Salt Lake at home on Saturday.
- Forward Robert Berić scored the goal that proved to be the match-winner just before halftime against RSL, and takes his place in tonight's starting lineup having scored five goals over the Fire's last five games. He now shares the team lead in goals scored (eight) with midfielder Luka Stojanović. Joining Berić in attack tonight are Fabian Herbers and Ignacio Aliseda.
- Goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina gets his ninth-straight start in net tonight after earning MLS Team of the Week honors following his performance against Real Salt Lake. In his nine appearances prior to tonight's match, the 17-year-old Homegrown product has earned four clean sheets.
- Alongside Slonina, the CFFC defensive unit has kept clean sheets in both meetings with NYCFC so far this season. Tonight, the backline will be manned by Boris Sekulić, Mauricio Pineda, Miguel Navarro, and captain Jonathan Bornstein. Navarro got his second assist of the season against RSL with a deft touch and low cross to Berić for the winner.
- Álvaro Medrán, Gastón Giménez, and Federico Navarro will make up tonight's starting midfield. Medrán has scored twice in the Fire's last three matches, and currently leads the team in assists with six to his name this season.
- Available to Klopas as substitutions tonight are goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, defender Wyatt Omsberg, defender Jhon Espinoza, defender Johan Kappelhof, defender Francisco Calvo, midfielder Luka Stojanović, midfielder Brian Gutiérrez, forward Elliot Collier, and forward Chinonso Offor.
- Defender Carlos Terán (right thigh) and goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm (right knee) are out due to injury for tonight's match.
- Forward Stanislav Ivanov will miss tonight's match as he recently returned to Europe for his U.S. Green Card appointment.
Get a look at New York City FC's starting lineup below as it becomes available:
