Match Information
Chicago Fire FC (4-2-2, 14 points) vs. Sporting Kansas City (1-6-1, 4 points)
Saturday, April 25, 2026
7:30 p.m. CT
Soldier Field – Chicago
How to Watch: Apple TV
English: Christian Miles & Kacey White
Spanish: Nacho Garcia
How to Listen: WLS 890 AM // Uforia by TREBEL App
English: Max Anderson & Joe Chatz
Spanish: Omar Ramos & Teresa Limón
Match Preview
Chicago Fire FC returns to the lakefront for a four-game homestand across two competitions, beginning with an interconference matchup against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, April 25.
The Men in Red remain unbeaten in their last five matches after defeating Detroit City FC on the road in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, April 14, then earning a 3-3 draw at FC Cincinnati on Saturday at TQL Stadium. In goalkeeper Chris Brady’s 100th regular season start, it was Hugo Cuypers who stole the show early on, scoring in his fifth consecutive match. Shortly after the start of the second half, he struck again for his fourth multi-goal game as a member of the Fire. The hosts tied it in the 86th minute, but Chicago held on to make it four league matches without tasting defeat.
Kansas City will wrap up a three-game road trip in Chicago after two tough losses last week. Sporting opened the week with a 3-0 loss at Colorado Springs in the Open Cup before a quick turnaround to a Friday night match in Vancouver. The 'Caps turned a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute to a 3-0 result before the half hour mark, limiting the visitors to three shots in the evening. The loss in Canada held Kansas City in 15th place in the Western Conference standings.
All-Time MLS Regular Season Record vs. SKC: (28-19-12)
Last Match vs. SKC: March 19, 2022 (3-1 W) – Soldier Field – Chicago (Match Recap)
Last Match at SKC: June 24, 2023 (1-0 W) – Sporting Park – Kansas City, Kan. (Match Recap)
Hyundai Keys to the Match:
- See Red: Hugo Cuypers is seeing red. The Belgian striker came back after a two-game absence with two goals to make it six in five straight matches this year. Now, he’s looking for the Fire record for most consecutive games with a goal on Saturday.
- Bear Down: The Fire defense remains one of only six teams in the league with fewer than 10 goals allowed. After a 3-3 draw in Cincinnati interrupted a two-game shutout streak, Chris Brady and the Fire backline are ready to bear down for clean sheet number five this year.
- Southside Pride: A familiar face is back in Soldier Field: South Loop native Justin Reynolds. The defender has seen significant minutes with Kansas City this season. The Men in Red will be happy to see him, but the pleasantries will end upon the opening whistle.
Match Notes
- With one goal against Sporting KC, forward Hugo Cuypers can break the Fire record for most consecutive games with a goal. The Belgian striker is currently tied with David Accam and Robert Berić for the mark with five matches in a row after scoring twice in Cincinnati.
- The Fire will contest their 60th match against Sporting KC, but only their first in the regular season since 2023. Chicago holds a 28-19-12 edge all-time against Kansas City. With three goals on Saturday, the Fire will have 100 goals all-time against their old rivals.
- Robin Lod has the only goal against Kansas City among all current Fire players. The former Minnesota United player has faced the Western Conference foes 14 times in his career, 10 more than veterans Chris Mueller and Jack Elliott. In those matches, Lod also recorded five assists, the second-most against Sporting among active players behind Diego Fagundez’s six.
- Goalkeeper Chris Brady will look for shutout number two in two matches against Kansas City on Saturday. His only match against Sporting resulted in a four-save shutout victory on June 24, 2023 at Soldier Field, only his third career clean sheet at the time.
- With a win or draw, Chicago will reach a season-high five straight league games without a loss, matching three such streaks recorded in 2025. The Men in Red went into the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs on a five-game unbeaten streak, riding the momentum into a 3-1 victory over Orlando City FC in the Eastern Conference Wild Card game on Oct. 22.
Starting XI
Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI tasked with stretching its unbeaten streak across all competitions to six:
- Two changes were made to the Starting XI that earned a point on the road in the 3-3 draw against FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium.
- Puso Dithejane will make his first Major League Soccer start on the left wing of the Fire attack. The South African winger made his debut in the 88th minute of Chicago’s season opening match at Houston Dynamo FC on Feb. 21, then made his first start with the Men in Red in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 victory at Detroit City FC on April 14.
- Defender Joel Waterman will make his fourth start of the regular season, lining up alongside captain Jack Elliott in the heart of the Fire backline. The Canadian international has appeared in all but two matches this season, while also starting and playing all 90 minutes of the Fire’s Open Cup victory against Detroit.
- Forward Hugo Cuypers leads the attack in hot form. Cuypers struck twice in the 3-3 draw against FC Cincinnati last week, and now takes aim at sole possession of the Club record for most consecutive games with a goal in his sixth match of the year.
- Joining Elliott and Waterman are fullbacks Jonathan Dean and Andrew Gutman, both of whom start their second straight regular season match together. Dean will line up to the right of Waterman, while Gutman will take his customary spot on the left of the defense.
- One week after his 100th career regular season start, goalkeeper Chris Brady will look for career clean sheet number 22. The Homegrown goalkeeper remains one of six players with a goals against average of 1.00 or under, and will look to turn that form into his fifth shutout of the year.
- Lining up across from Dithjane on the right wing of the attack is Philip Zinckernagel, who has now recorded a goal or an assist in four straight matches across all competitions for Chicago. The Danish winger will join Dithejane and central midfielders Anton Salétros and Dje D’Avilla in the center of the pitch.
- Maren Haile-Selassie will start his fourth league match in a row, this time as a forward. The versatile Swiss player has played out of the wing on the attack and as a wingback on the defense this season, most notably scoring the game-winner while playing centrally in the 1-0 victory over Atlanta United FC on April 11.
- Available off the bench for Berhalter are goalkeeper Josh Cohen; defenders Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Viktor Radojević and Dylan Borso; midfielders Robin Lod, Mauricio Pineda, David Poreba and Sergio Oregel Jr.; and forward Jason Shokalook.
- Defender Leonardo Barroso (Lower Body) and wingers Chris Mueller (Lower Body) and Jonathan Bamba (Not Due to Injury) will be unavailable for selection against Kansas City. Midfielder André Franco (Lower Body) remains on the league Injured List and will be unavailable through the World Cup break.
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