Chicago Fire FC is back at Soldier Field on Wednesday night for the first of three-straight matches at home, which begins with a visit from Eastern Conference counterparts New York City FC.
Head coach Raphael Wicky's side returns home following a gritty 1-1 draw on the road against the Philadelphia Union this past Sunday, and will look to make the most of the homestand ahead with three points along the lakefront tonight. New York City FC enter the match in fourth place in the conference and riding a three-match winning streak.
Kickoff from Soldier Field is set for 7 p.m. CT, with coverage available on WGN-TV, CFFC Live, and WOJO 105.1 FM HD-3. Get the lowdown on tonight's starting lineup in the notes below:
- Four changes have been made to the starting XI that took on Philadelphia on the road over the weekend.
- Homegrown goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina etches his name in the MLS history books with his start tonight in place of the injured Bobby Shuttleworth. At 17 years and 81 days, Slonina will become the youngest goalkeeper in MLS history to start a regular season match.
- After making his long-awaited debut following a lengthy injury absence, forward Stanislav Ivanov will get his first Fire start against New York City tonight. Ivanov replaces Fabian Herbers, who will serve a one-match suspension due to yellow card accumulation this evening.
- Defenders Johan Kappelhof and Jonathan Bornstein return to the opening XI tonight in place of the injured Miguel Navarro and Wyatt Omsberg, who will serve a one-match suspension for his red card received in Philadelphia on Sunday.
- Rounding out tonight's defensive unit are Mauricio Pineda, captain Francisco Calvo, and Boris Sekulić. Pineda starts for the 10th straight match, while Calvo makes his second-straight start after returning from participating in the Concacaf Gold Cup tournament with Costa Rica. Sekulić continues his impressive run of consecutive starts, making his 38th-straight since debuting for the Club last summer.
- Forward Chinonso Offor will make his second-straight start atop the Fire attacking unit tonight, joined by Ivanov.
- Occupying the Fire midfield tonight are Álvaro Medrán, Gastón Giménez, and Ignacio Aliseda. Medrán's appearance for the Club will be his 40th, while Giménez earns his 30th. Tonight's match will be the fourth-straight match in which this trio will start alongside one another.
- Available to Wicky as substitutions tonight are goalkeeper Chris Brady, defender Jhon Espinoza, defender Carlos Terán, midfielder Luka Stojanović, midfielder Brian Gutiérrez, midfielder Alex Monis, and forward Robert Berić.
- Defender Miguel Navarro (right shin), midfielder Javier Casas Jr. (right shin), midfielder Elliot Coller (left foot), goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth (left knee)and goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm (right knee) are out due to injury for tonight's match.
Get a look at NYCFC's starting lineup below:
