Chicago looks to finish the Club’s three-match homestand strong and head into the MLS All-Star break still above the playoff line as they face Toronto FC for the second time this season, this time hosting the Canadian side at Soldier Field.
On Wednesday, the Fire defeated CF Montréal with an exciting 3-0 win at Soldier Field. The win moved Chicago into ninth place, passing Montréal (10th place) and the New York Red Bulls (11th place), putting the Fire in playoff position.
During Saturday’’s match, fans will go back in time to an era of big hair, bright colors, and bold fashion when the Fire host 80's Night. Kickoff against Toronto FC is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT at Soldier Field, and the match will be broadcast on Apple TV+, and transmitted 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:
- Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Frank Klopas has made one change to the starting XI that took the field against CF Montréal on Wednesday.
- Defender Jonathan Dean spells Arnaud Souquet in the backline, joining Mauricio Pineda, captain Rafael Czichos and Miguel Navarro.
- Fabian Herbers makes his sixth consecutive start, and his second-straight alongside Gastón Giménez.
- Maren Haile-Selassie, Xherdan Shaqiri and Brian Gutiérrez start alongside each other for the fourth consecutive match. All three midfielders scored in the match against Montréal, with Haile-Selassie and Shaqiri assisting on each other’s tallies. The Swiss compatriots were named to the MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 25, with Shaqiri forming part of the TOTM XI and Haile-Selassie named to the TOTM bench.
- Georgios Koutsias will lead the attack from the outset for the third-straight time. The Greek forward had two assists against Montréal, dishing the pass to Brian Gutiérrez for the first goal of the match and passing the ball to Shaqiri who laid it off for Haile-Selassie to score.
- Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady backstops the team for the 20th time this season, in search of his sixth clean sheet of the 2023 MLS regular season.
- Available off the bench for head coach Frank Klopas are goalkeeper Spencer Richey, defenders Alonso Aceves, Kendall Burks, Arnaud Souquet and Carlos Terán; midfielder Jairo Torres; and forwards Kei Kamara, Kacper Przybyłko and Missael Rodríguez.
- Defender Wyatt Omsberg (left lower leg), midfielders Javier Casas Jr. (right upper arm), Chris Mueller (right upper leg) and Federico Navarro (right lower leg) and forward Victor Bezerra (right lower leg) will not be available for tonight’s match. Additionally, midfielder Ousmane Doumbia is unavailable for the match as he serves a suspension for yellow card accumulation during the 2023 Swiss Cup.
See Toronto’s lineup below as it becomes available:
