It's Matchday 26, and New York City FC return to league play by hosting Chicago Fire in the World's Borough of Queens.
NYCFC are back from the sleep-away camp that was Leagues Cup: They made friends, fooled around, got in trouble, and are feeling a little more grown up after spending a few weeks away from home. Now they return to the business of climbing to a top spot in the Eastern Conference and securing home-field advantage for the best-of-three first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
The 7 train will not be running between Manhattan and Queens. To reach Citi Field from Manhattan, transfer to the 7 train at Queensboro Plaza, or take the LIRR from Penn Station or Grand Central Madison.
• Matchday 26: New York City FC vs Chicago Fire
• Date and Time: Saturday, August 24, 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Citi Field
• Forecast: Warm, breezy, a classic late summer night 76F/24C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Callum Williams and Calen Carr (English), Jesus Acosta and Carlos Suare (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Malik Badawi (referee), Brian Dunn and Benn Pilgrim (assistant referees), Jeremy Scheer (fourth official), Jon Freemon (VAR), Jonathan Johnson (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will be back in black and wearing the "24/7 Kit"; Chicago will wear their white "Water Tower Kit"
Chicago are down in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with 25 points, which put them just three points off the playoffs. A club that looks lighter and brighter after shedding Xherdan Shaqiri's bloated contract will be looking to climb the table despite having just two road wins this year — and having never won a game in New York City.
Oliver Strand
New York City vs Chicago H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 32 | 20 | 12 |
New York City dominate the head-to-head, with just three losses in 10 years. More germane, Chicago have never won in New York City, where they have been held scoreless six times in 10 games.
One of those games was last October when New York City defeated Chicago 1-0 on Decision Day in a game moved to Citi Field from Red Bull Arena. The last time Chicago defeated New York City was on September 29, 2021, when a winless run of six games had #RonnyOut trending in the socials.
More recently, the two teams played to a flat 0-0 draw at Soldier Field on July 13, when New York City stumbled through a four-game road trip that had them playing in the steamy climates of Austin, Chicago, Atlanta, and Orlando.
New York City FC
• Player Availability: Forward Malachi Jones (leg) and midfielder Andrés Perea (leg) remain out.
• New York City's home record of 8W-1D-3L is second-best in the Eastern Conference, behind only Inter Miami's 8W-3D-2L.
• The team is currently in Fifth Place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind New York Red Bulls. A Fourth Place finish will earn home-field advantage in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, a best-of-three matchup that is played home-away-home.
• Will the forward line start scoring? Contributing writer Matthew Mangam looks into how NYCFC's improving attack could still stand to get better.
Matthew Mangam
Chicago Fire
• Player Availability: Left-back Chase Gasper (leg), left-back Andrew Gutman (leg), defensive midfielder Federico Navarro (leg), and center-back Carlos Teran (leg) are out.
• Chicago might just have two road wins this season, but one was against FC Cincinnati on July 17. True, the hosts didn't have Luciano Acosta that day, but a result is a result.
• The attack will be led by Hugo Cuypers, who has nine goals in 25 MLS appearances. To learn more about this squad be sure to read "Oppo Research: 5 Things about Chicago Fire."
Matthew Mangam
