Chicago City Wire

Chicago Fire FC will host St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday, August 16 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. This match marks only the second time the two teams have met in regular season play at Chicago’s home ground.

The Fire return to SeatGeek Stadium after a 2-2 draw against LAFC last weekend. In that match, defender Carlos Terán scored early by heading in a corner kick from Philip Zinckernagel. Later, Brian Gutiérrez and Zinckernagel combined to set up Jonathan Bamba for Chicago’s second goal. LAFC managed to tie the game with a penalty kick, but could not secure a win.

St. Louis CITY SC comes into the match following a 3-1 victory over Nashville SC, who are contenders for the Supporters’ Shield. Jaziel Orozco scored his first MLS goal for St. Louis, with João Klauss and Sangbin Jeong adding to their tally.

The upcoming game is the third league meeting between Chicago and St. Louis since St. Louis joined Major League Soccer in 2023. Chicago won their first encounter 1-0 at Soldier Field on May 13, 2023, while St. Louis claimed a 3-1 victory at Energizer Park on May 11 of this year. The teams also met at SeatGeek Stadium during the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where Chicago advanced with a 2-1 win.

Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter commented on the challenge ahead: “They’re a strong team,” said Berhalter. “I think it's been a disjointed season for them so far. I think they're definitely better than their table place indicates.”

Philip Zinckernagel spoke about playing another rivalry match at home: “I think the environment and the atmosphere around the game was really good,” said Zinckernagel. “We've also talked about the rivalry, so they'll probably bring some fans.”

St. Louis forward João Klauss leads his team with nine goals this season and has played in all but one match.

Statistically, Chicago has excelled at scoring from corner kicks this year with nine goals from such situations—second most in MLS—and an expected goals per game rate from corners among league leaders.

Zinckernagel’s two assists against LAFC brought his season total to twelve, tying him for fifth-highest single-season assist tally in club history and matching records set by Piotr Nowak (1998) and Nico Gaitán (2019). His total goal contributions now stand at twenty-two for the season.

Defender Andrew Gutman started his twenty-fifth match of the year last week—a personal best—and has recorded career highs in assists (eight), minutes played (2,059), and overall goal contributions (ten).

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT on Saturday and will be available globally via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV as well as locally through WLS 890 AM (English) and Que Buena Fire via Uforia App (Spanish). A replay will air Tuesday afternoon on Marquee Sports Network.