Chicago City Wire

Chicago Fire FC will return to Soldier Field on Saturday, September 13, to face New York City FC in a matchup between two Eastern Conference playoff contenders.

The Fire come into the match after a 3-2 win over the New England Revolution at SeatGeek Stadium. Jonathan Bamba scored early for Chicago, followed by Philip Zinckernagel and Hugo Cuypers, who notched his 16th goal of the season. Despite conceding twice, goalkeeper Chris Brady made several key saves to secure the victory. The result moved Chicago above the New York Red Bulls into ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. With a win against NYCFC, Chicago could move up to eighth place and strengthen their position in the playoff race.

New York City FC is currently one spot ahead of Chicago with 44 points and had a bye week during the recent FIFA international window. In their last game on August 30, NYCFC lost at home to D.C. United after taking an early lead through Justin Haak but conceding twice to Gabriel Pirani.

The match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV. Local radio coverage will be available on wlsam.com in English and Que Buena Fire via the Uforia App in Spanish. A replay will air on Marquee Sports Network on Tuesday, September 16 at 2:30 p.m. CT.

Historically, Chicago has struggled against NYCFC with an all-time regular season record of three wins, twelve losses, and eight draws against them.

Chicago has been strong at home recently, remaining unbeaten in its last four matches at Soldier Field and SeatGeek Stadium with three wins and one draw during that stretch. This run has helped keep them competitive in the playoff race as they look to maintain momentum against an NYCFC team that has four wins, five losses, and five draws away from home this season.

One key player for NYCFC is midfielder Maxi Moralez who leads his team with ten assists this season and ranks second in minutes played with 2,219 minutes.

For Chicago, André Franco recorded two assists in only his second appearance for the club during his home debut. He led both teams in passes (61), key passes (4), and passing accuracy (92.4%) among starters.

Midfielder Dje D’Avilla also played a full ninety minutes against New England for his fifth consecutive start while maintaining over ninety percent passing accuracy alongside Franco and Cuypers.