MLS leaders Philadelphia Union will be aiming to continue their blistering start to the 2025 season when they visit Soldier Field on Thursday to face off against Chicago Fire.

The away side are unbeaten in 12 straight matches across all competitions leading up to this one, but the hosts are not in bad form themselves, having won six of their most recent nine matches.

Match preview

Philadelphia Union ended their 2024 Major League Soccer journey on a dismal run of just one point from the final 12 available, missing out on a place in the playoffs for the first time in eight years, dating back to 2017.

Bradley Carnell's men also had a pre-season to forget, losing three of their four matches ahead of February's curtain-raiser against Orlando City, which, however, ended in a thrilling 4-2 triumph and was the first of three straight wins to start the new campaign.

What followed for Zolos was a dry patch that yielded one win and three defeats from the subsequent five matches, but they have since turned a corner, winning nine and drawing three of their next 12 outings from April 20 to date.

Since they were denied all three points by a last-gasp Telasco Segovia strike in May's 3-3 draw against Inter Miami, Philadelphia Union have been on the right end of some late drama recently as Markus Adeniyi Anderson Adedeji netted in the 98th minute to secure a 2-1 win over Charlotte last time out.

That victory moved Philadelphia to 37 points from 18 matches this term, preserving their four-point advantage over FC Cincinnati at the top of the Eastern Conference just past the midway point of the season.

Thursday's visitors will now set out to get the better of their hosts at an opposing ground where they have not come out on top in the last four attempts since 2021 and have conceded a whopping 10 times during that span.

In a season which has seen them record a 7-2 defeat and a 7-1 win, Chicago Fire's campaign has been nothing short of a rollercoaster, and the team from Illinois will be looking to get back to winning ways following a 2-0 defeat to Nashville in their last involvement.

Gregg Berhalter's men were held to no goals for the first time in eight matches, although it was not for a lack of trying, as they dominated proceedings and created more chances, only to be let down by wasteful finishing.

Having not lost consecutive matches since April, the Men in Red are certain to be no pushovers for the current MLS frontrunners, who failed to win any of last season's meetings between the teams despite netting five times across both outings.

Albeit with a game in hand, Chicago Fire are just outside playoff contention on total wins, level on points with Charlotte (25) ahead of the sides' encounter on Sunday, just three days after their battle with Philadelphia.

With their 17 matches so far yielding a division-high 66 goals, Thursday's hosts have served up some exciting contests so far, and you would not bet against their upcoming clash being yet another enthralling affair.

Chicago Fire MLS form:

Chicago Fire form (all competitions):

Philadelphia Union MLS form:

Philadelphia Union form (all competitions):

Team News

Chris Brady and Harold Osorio are on international duty with the United States and Honduras respectively, ruling them out of contention for Chicago Fire.

David Poreba (knee), Carlos Teran (hamstring) and Christopher Cupps (leg) are also unfit to participate for the home side, while Chris Mueller remains unavailable due to personal reasons.

Twenty-eight-year-old Hugo Cuypers has found the back of the net seven times in his last 10 matches and is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Danley Jean Jacques (Haiti) and Andre Blake (Jamaica) are at the ongoing Gold Cup and are guaranteed absentees for Philadelphia Union here alongside Tai Baribo, who is dealing with a calf injury.

Ian Glavinovich is still a considerable way off returning to action for the away side having not featured since early April due to a niggling knee problem.

Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:

Gal; Dean, Gonzalez, Elliott, Gutman; Gutierrez, Pineda, Oregel; Haile-Selassie, Cuypers, Bamba

Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:

Rick; Mbaizo, Glesnes, Makhanya, Wagner; Bedoya, Bueno, Lukic, Bender; Damiani, Vassilev

We say: Chicago Fire 2-2 Philadelphia Union

Both Chicago Fire and Philadelphia Union will have every reason to believe they can claim all three points here, and rightly so, which should make for an exciting affair.

That said, we can see the teams playing out a share of the spoils when all is said and done.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Adepoju Marvellous

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