Chicago plays on the road for a second-straight match as the team travels back to the Midwest from the Rose City with three points in hand. Against Sporting Kansas City, the Fire faces a side that is also traveling from the West Coast, having brought home a point from a 2-2 with the LA Galaxy in Matchday 20.
Kickoff at Children’s Mercy Park is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+, and fans can also catch the action locally in Spanish on TUDN 1200 AM and in English on 890 WLS-AM.
Learn more about tonight’s starters in the lineup notes below:
- Only one change was made to the lineup that faced the Portland Timbers on Matchday 20 at Providence Park.
- Striker Kei Kamara returns to the 11 after alternating the previous match with Kacper Przybyłko. Kamara came on as a substitute in the 2-1 win against Portland on Wednesday, scoring the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute to lift the Fire to three points. Facing his former club tonight, Kamara is one goal away from tying MLS and USMNT legend Landon Donovan for second all-time in goals scored (145) in MLS history.
- Brian Gutiérrez will line up from the outset for a fourth-straight regular season match. Gutiérrez registered both assists against Portland, earning a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 20 and becoming only the 10th player in MLS history to register 15 career assists before the age of 21.
- Jairo Torres and Fabian Herbers once again get the nod against Sporting KC, marking Torres’ fourth start of the season. In the previous match, Herbers scored his second goal of the season and his first goal against the Portland Timbers.
- The Argentine duo of Federico Navarro and Gastón Giménez take the field side by side for the sixth time this season. It is Navarro’s sixth and Giménez’s third-straight start.
- Mexican defender Alonso Aceves makes his fourth start of the regular season for the Fire and his second consecutive.
- Captain Rafael Czichos, Arnaud Souquet and Mauricio Pineda line up alongside each other for a third-straight match.
- Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady returns to the Starting XI, marking the 19-year-old’s 16th career start for the Fire.
- After returning from international duty with Switzerland earlier this week, midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri is available for selection on the bench tonight, alongside goalkeeper Spencer Richey, defenders Kendall Burks, Jonathan Dean, Wyatt Omsberg and Carlos Terán, midfielder Maren Haile-Selassie, and forwards Georgios Koutsias and Kacper Przybyłko.
- Midfielders Javier Casas Jr. (right upper arm) and Chris Mueller (right upper leg), and defender Miguel Navarro (right lower leg) are unavailable for selection tonight.
Take a look at how Sporting KC will start below as their lineup becomes available:
