Chicago City Wire

Chicago Fire FC begins a four-game road series with a match against Charlotte FC in the Queen City. The game at Bank of America Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be available globally on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, as well as locally in English on wlsam.com and in Spanish on Que Buena Fire through the Uforia App.

Gregg Berhalter, Chicago Fire FC's Director of Football and Head Coach, announced the Starting XI to face Charlotte. This lineup features only one change from their previous win against Atlanta United FC at Soldier Field. Goalkeeper Chris Brady returns after a suspension, aiming for his third clean sheet across all competitions following a strong performance against Detroit City FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Defensive duties are led by captain Jack Elliott and Sam Rogers, marking their eighth pairing in Major League Soccer play this season. They are joined by Jonathan Dean and Andrew Gutman to maintain a streak of three matches without conceding goals.

The midfield sees Mauricio Pineda, Sergio Oregel Jr., and Brian Gutiérrez starting together for the third consecutive MLS match this season. Pineda aims to reach a milestone of 10,000 minutes played in Major League Soccer during his record-setting 110th start for Chicago.

Forward Hugo Cuypers seeks to regain his position as league leader in goals scored after being surpassed midweek. He is supported by wingers Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel, who have consistently started together throughout the season.

Unavailable players include defenders Leonardo Barroso, Carlos Terán, Chase Gasper; midfielder David Poreba due to lower body injuries; and Chris Mueller not due to injury. The bench options include goalkeeper Jeff Gal; defenders Justin Reynolds and Christopher Cupps; midfielders Rominigue Kouamé, Maren Haile-Selassie, Kellyn Acosta, Omari Glasgow, Dje D’Avilla; and forward Tom Barlow.