Two sides looking for their first MLS victories since March square off on Saturday as the Chicago Fire welcome Atlanta United to Soldier Field.
They each earned a single point last week, as the Fire drew 0-0 with Orlando City and sit 11th in the Eastern Conference with three more points than the Five Stripes, who are 13th following a 1-1 result at home to Nashville SC.
Match preview
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Despite all of their pressure in the opening half hour last week, the Fire could not find the back of the net in their first match of this month.
It was the second time they had failed to score in their last three home fixtures, extending their winless run in this competition to six matches.
On Saturday, Gregg Berhalter can claim his first win at Soldier Field as Chicago's head coach, with this team claiming just three points in five domestic home games this season.
The Chicago Fire have won just one of their last six MLS fixtures played at Soldier Field but at the same time have only suffered two defeats.
With 13 points after 11 MLS matchdays, they have actually claimed three more points than they had at this stage of the previous league campaign.
Chicago are unbeaten in their previous five home games played against the Five Stripes but have not beaten them at Soldier Field since 2021 (3-0).
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A difficult season of late for Atlanta United reached yet another low last Saturday even though they collected a single point against Nashville.
The Five Stripes had just 37% of the possession in that game and 31% over the final 70 minutes while boasting an expected goals rate of 0.07 over that span.
Ronny Deila's first season back in Major League Soccer has been disappointing thus far, particularly on the back end, with his side conceding the third-most goals in the Eastern Conference (20).
Their winless run in the league at the moment sits at five games, with Atlanta United netting a mere two goals combined over that span.
Atlanta are one of five MLS sides without a victory away from home this year, having been outscored by a combined margin of 10-2 as the visitors in their four road outings.
They have points in six consecutive meetings with Chicago but have only ever claimed one victory against them in the Windy City, back in 2018 (2-1).
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Team News
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An upper body issue kept Kellyn Acosta out of the Fire lineup against Orlando City, while Carlos Teran, David Poreba, Chase Gasper and Leonardo Barroso were forced out with lower body injuries.
Chris Mueller was still on paternity leave last week, and Chris Brady will be suspended for this clash after being red-carded in the opening half of that match.
Jeffrey Gal took Brady's place between the sticks following the dismissal and collected a clean sheet in what was his debut match in this competition.
Atlanta were missing Tristan Muyumba versus Nashville as he was dealing with an adductor strain, and a quad injury kept Stian Rode Gregersen on the sidelines.
Deila made three changes to his starting 11, bringing in Derrick Williams, Ajani Fortune and Emmanuel Latte Lath, with Noah Cobb, Bartosz Slisz, and Jamal Thiare relegated to the bench.
Miguel Almiron put the Five Stripes in front after 20 minutes in their previous encounter, his third of the 2025 Major League Soccer campaign.
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Gal; Dean, Gonzalez, Elliott, Gutman; Oregel, Gutierrez, Pineda; Glasgow, Cuypers, Bamba
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Lennon, Williams, Abram, Amador; Miranchuk, Slisz; Lobzhanidze, Almiron, Thiare; Latte Lath
We say: Chicago Fire 2-2 Atlanta United
Neither side have been convincing enough for us to believe there is a decisive edge for one team this weekend, though given how poor they each have been defensively, it could be a fun match to watch for the neutrals.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
