The Fire face their first trip away from home of the 2021 season on Saturday night, as they prepare for kickoff against Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 7 p.m. CT.
Coming out of a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution in their season opener at Solder Field last weekend, head coach Raphael Wicky's men will look to make a statement and claim three points against Gabriel Heinze's rebuilt Atlanta side this evening. Atlanta began their 2021 regular season with a draw of their own, entering the match on the heels of a scoreless affair at Orlando City SC.
With the opening whistle coming soon on WGN-TV, CFFC Live, and Latino Mix 93.5 FM, get the scoop on tonight's opening XI in the lineup notes below:
- Wicky will deploy the same starting XI that took the field in last week's match against New England.
- Forward Robert BeriÄ got his first goal and assist of the season last week, and was named to the MLS Team of the Week for his efforts. He returns to the starting lineup tonight looking begin a scoring streak.
- Midfielder Luka StojanoviÄ is back in central midfield after getting a goal of his own in what was his Soldier Field debut and first official match since suffering a season-ending injury at last summer's MLS is Back Tournament.
- Ălvaro MedrĂĄn and GastĂłn GimĂ©nez will pull the strings in midfield alongside StojanoviÄ, making their 25th and 20th Fire appearances, respectively.
- Goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth picks up his 200th career start in MLS regular season play, dating back to 2009. It's his 19th start for the Fire.
- 2021 arrival Chinonso Offor gets his second straight start after making his official debut for the Fire last weekend. He'll line up opposite PrzemysĆaw Frankowski out wide in the Fire attack.
- Johan Kappelhof makes his 130th Fire appearance tonight, lining up in central defense alongside captain Francisco Calvo.
- Fullbacks Boris SekuliÄ and Jonathan Bornstein round out tonight's defensive backline.
- Available to Wicky as substitutions in Atlanta are goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, defender Wyatt Omsberg, defender Jhon Espinoza, defender Carlos Terån, defender Andre Reynolds II, defender/midfielder Mauricio Pineda, midfielder Javier Casas Jr., midfielder Brian Gutiérrez, and midfielder Alex Monis.
- Midfielder Elliot Collier (left ankle), midfielder Fabian Herbers (right knee), midfielder Stanislav Ivanov (left knee), midfielder Ignacio Aliseda (left thigh), defender Miguel Navarro (right ankle), and goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm (right knee) are out for tonight's match.
Get a look at both team's starting lineups as they're available in the graphics below:
