Two teams separated by just a single point in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer will square off for the first time in 2025 on Saturday as Nashville SC welcome the Chicago Fire to GEODIS Park.
The Boys in Gold currently sit sixth in the East following a 3-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders, putting them just above the Fire who are eighth, with the latter suffering a 3-2 defeat versus FC Cincinnati.
Match preview
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Since the latter part of the previous month, the normally rock-solid Nashville defence have taken a step back and looked more vulnerable than we are used to.
They conceded a goal or fewer in four of their first five league fixtures this year but enter this contest having given up a combined eight goals in their previous four games.
BJ Callaghan has never won consecutive MLS encounters on home soil, but that could change this weekend with Nashville defeating Real Salt Lake the last time out at GEODIS Park (2-1) thanks to a penalty converted in stoppage time.
Nashville have the second-highest expected goals rate in the East (15.3) but have also scored the second-fewest goals among current playoff teams in their conference (12).
To this stage of the season, the Boys in Gold have dropped six points when scoring first, one of which came at home last month (2-1 against FC Cincinnati).
They have won three of their last four outings versus Chicago and posted four clean sheets in their previous five matches against them.
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Similarly to Nashville, a promising early start to the 2025 campaign by the Chicago Fire has hit a snag over the past few weeks.
Gregg Berhalter's team are winless in their last four league contests after suffering just one defeat from their first five MLS affairs.
Chicago have lost two domestic fixtures this year after netting the opening goal but have also won two when conceding first.
All three of their MLS victories in 2025 have come away from home, though they squandered a 1-0 lead in their previous road contest at the New York Red Bulls, ultimately losing 2-1.
The Fire have had their share of quality chances, boasting the third-highest expected goals in the East this year (15.2), narrowly below Nashville in that category.
Their lone victory versus Nashville came in the Windy City in 2023, when they claimed a 1-0 result, their only clean sheet posted against them.
Team News
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A head injury kept Walker Zimmerman out of the Nashville lineup against the Sounders, Julian Gaines sat out with a thigh strain, while Maximus Ekk and Tyler Boyd were sidelined with knee issues.
With nine minutes remaining in normal time last weekend, Chris Applewhite made his MLS debut, replacing Jeisson Palacios to become the youngest player in club history to feature in a game at 17 years and 239 days.
Hany Mukhtar, who captained the side in their previous encounter, has six career MLS goals versus Chicago, setting up the winner by Sam Surridge the last time they hosted the Fire a season ago in a 1-0 victory.
Lower body injuries kept David Poreba, Rominigue Kouame, Chase Gasper and Leonardo Barroso out of the Fire lineup versus Cincinnati.
Defender Sam Rogers returned from a lower-body injury last week, taking the place of Carlos Teran after the latter went down with an injury in the opening half, while Jonathan Dean was on the bench, having previously missed his share of matches this year with a torso problem.
Hugo Cuypers scored his sixth of the season last Saturday, putting him just one behind Tai Baribo of the Philadelphia Union in the MLS Golden Boot race, with their other strike coming courtesy of Brian Gutierrez from the penalty spot.
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Najar, Bauer, Maher, Lovitz; Yazbek, Brugman; Muyl, Mukhtar, Shaffelburg; Surridge
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Glasgow, Rogers, Elliott, Gutman; Oregel, Acosta, Gutierrez; Barlow, Cuypers, Bamba
We say: Nashville SC 1-0 Chicago Fire
Nashville have done a much better job this season of bouncing back after a rough outing, and we expect them to have their share of scoring opportunities against a side that have conceded multiple goals four times in 2025.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
