Chicago Fire is back at Soldier Field tonight as they prepare to host 2022 expansion side Charlotte FC for the very first time.
Entering the match, both sides are level on 35 points in the Eastern Conference standings and have equal need to claim all three points this evening in order to keep their postseason hopes afloat. These two teams first met in early August at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, where the Fire overcame an early deficit to walk away with full points in a 3-2 victory. Head Coach Ezra Hendrickson's side will look to repeat that feat tonight when the opening whistle blows at 7 p.m. CT.
Fans watching from home can tune in for broadcast coverage on WGN-TV, CF97 Live, Univision Radio, and MLS LIVE's out-of-market package on ESPN+.
All the details on tonight's just-announced Fire starting XI and bench are below:
- Three changes have been made to the lineup that faced Montréal on Tuesday night.
- Rookie defender Kendall Burks gets the first start (and second appearance overall) of his MLS career tonight, replacing Carlos Terán. The 22-year-old University of Washington product will line up in central defense alongside captain Rafael Czichos this evening.
- Schaumburg native Chris Mueller returns to the starting lineup tonight after missing Tuesday's match with a hip injury. He'll slot in next to Xherdan Shaqiri and Brian Gutiérrez along the attacking midfield line. Shaqiri scored both of the Fire's goals on Tuesday in Montréal with a pair of penalty kick finishes.
- Federico Navarro also returns to midfield tonight after serving a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation on Tuesday night. He'll partner with Mauricio Pineda in holding midfield tonight.
- Last Saturday, forward Jhon Durán scored the second brace of his young career in the Fire's 3-1 win against Inter Miami at SeatGeek Stadium. He'll look to get back on the scoresheet atop tonight's attacking unit.
- Rounding out tonight's defensive unit are fullbacks Boris Sekulić and Miguel Navarro and goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina. They'll look to make it 13 clean sheets in 2022 tonight.
- 18-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina starts in net and will look to add to his 12 clean sheets earned so far this season.
- Available to Hendrickson as substitutions tonight are goalkeeper Spencer Richey, defender Jonathan Bornstein, defender Jhon Espinoza, defender Andre Reynolds II, midfielder Javier Casas Jr., midfielder Sergio Oregel Jr., forward Victor Bezerra, forward Stanislav Ivanov, and forward Alex Monis.
- Defender Wyatt Omsberg (left foot), midfielder Gastón Giménez (right thigh), midfielder Jairo Torres (left lower leg), forward Fabian Herbers (right hip), and forward Kacper Przybyłko (back) are unavailable for selection tonight.
Get a look at Charlotte’s starting lineup below as it becomes available:
