Chicago Fire FC will welcome 2020 expansion side Nashville SC to Soldier Field for the very first time on Sunday, when the two Eastern Conference clubs kickoff at 12 p.m. CT.
The Fire were victims of a last-minute winner on Wednesday night against New England, when Revolution midfielder Carles Gil scored in stoppage time to give the visitors a 3-2 win. Nashville enter the match in second place in the East, with 44 points earned through 25 games played this season.
Ahead this afternoon's kickoff, get familiar with head coach Raphael Wicky's starting XI with the lineup notes below and catch coverage of today's match on WGN-TV, CFFC Live, TUDN 1200AM, and MLS LIVE's out-of-market package on ESPN+.
- Three changes have been made to the starting lineup that faced New England on Wednesday.
- Six out of today's 11 starters are aged 23 or younger.
- Defender Mauricio Pineda, defender Jhon Esponoza, and forward Ignacio Aliseda have all been re-inserted into the starting lineup.
- Pineda and Espinoza will spell Carlos Terán and Boris Sekulić today. Terán is serving a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation, while Sekulić is unavailable for selection due to a back injury. Pineda and Espinoza will be joined in defense by Johan Kappelhof, who starts for the second-straight game, as well as Miguel Navarro and today's captain Jonathan Bornstein.
- Aliseda replaces Chinonso Offor in the attack, and makes his first start since the Fire's 0-0 draw with NYCFC on Aug. 4. He'll partner with Robert Berić up top today.
- In midfield, Wednesday's Heineken Man of the Match Gastón Giménez returns to the starting XI after scoring the second of the Fire's two goals against the Revolution. It was the second goal of his Fire career. Alongside Giménez, 2021 summer signing Federico Navarro starts for the third-straight match, and Álvaro Medrán makes his 19th start of the season.
- In net, 17-year-old Homegrown product Gabriel Slonina gets his third-straight start and the fourth overall of his career so far.
- Available to Wicky as substitutions today are goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, defender Wyatt Omsberg, midfielder Javier Casas Jr., midfielder Fabian Herbers, forward Elliot Collier, forward Stanislav Ivanov, midfielder Alex Monis, and forward Chinonso Offor.
- Midfielder Brian Gutierrez (right ankle), midfielder Luka Stojanovic (right ankle), defender Francisco Calvo (right thigh), and goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm (right knee) are out due to injury for tonight's match.
Get a look at Nashville's starting lineup below as it becomes available:
