Game Day Hub: New York City vs Chicago Fire at Soldier Field

It's Matchday 23, and New York City FC are in the Windy Humid City to face Chicago Fire in their first matchup of the 2024 season.

New York City are coming off a disappointing 1-2 loss to Austin FC. Blame it on the travel, the heat, the short rest: NYCFC let an early lead slip away, and today they'll be looking for some redemption after letting a winnable game fall into the loss column.

Chicago are coming off a frustrating 1-0 away loss to San Jose Earthquakes. The Fire were the better team that night, and dominated the final 20 minutes of play, but they failed to score despite an xG of 1.28.

This is a matchup between two teams that don't score much: New York City have just eight goals in 10 away matches, while Chicago's 28 goals this season are fifth-worst in the league. Oh, and the two teams also leak goals: New York City have allowed 13 goals in 10 away matches (and logged just one clean sheet), while Chicago's 40 goals allowed are 6th-worst in the league.

New York City vs Chicago H2H

New York City lost to Chicago just three times in 20 games played over nine years. The last time Chicago beat NYCFC? That was on September 29, 2021, when New York City went winless in five games before finishing the year by taking 10 points out of their last 12 — and going on to lift the MLS Cup.

To find Chicago's previous win, you need to go way back to 2018, when Bastian Schweinsteiger was in the Fire's midfield and the New York City attack was led by Jo Inge Berget.

Last year, when New York City earned just 41 points, four of those came at the expense of Chicago. The two teams drew 1-1 early in the season at Soldier Field, then NYCFC beat the Fire 1-0 on Decision Day courtesy of a Julián Fernández banger from outside the box:

Julián Fernández banger! 💥#NYCFC takes a 1-0 lead against Chicago. pic.twitter.com/WeSyqMr6PJ

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 21, 2023

New York City FC

• Player Availability: Forward Malachi Jones (leg) continues to recover after undergoing surgery on June 30. Maxi Moralez, Tayvon Gray, and Kevin O'Toole are all also out with leg injuries.
• Santiago Rodríguez and James Sands are each one yellow card away from facing one-match suspensions for accumulation.
• Birk Risa is back available and declared fit by his manager after dealing with a sprained ankle suffered in the win over CF Montréal on July 3.
• Will we see Talles Magno play? That's the copy-and-paste question we ask every week. The Designated Player is healthy and available and yet has seen just six minutes of playing time this season.
• Will we see Christian McFarlane play — or maybe even start? Head Coach Nick Cushing and Sporting Director David Lee indicate that the wunderkind will get playing time, but so far this season, he has just one substitute appearance. He's off the injury report while O'Toole is unavailable—is this his chance?

5 Takeaways from David Lee’s midseason update

An attempt to read between some of the more notable lines from midseason comments NYCFC Sporting Director David Lee made to the media.

Hudson River BlueAndrew Leigh

David Lee: We built a roster with depth and competition

New York City FC’s sporting director sat down with the media to explain the current state of the roster, what the future might hold for Talles Magno, and how the team will approach this summer transfer window.

Hudson River BlueHudson River Blue Staff

Chicago Fire

• Player Availability: Defender Chase Gasper (leg), defender Andrew Gutman (leg), midfielder Federico Navarro (leg), and center-back Carlos Terán (leg) are all out. Winger Fabian Hebers is suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
• Midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri is done with 2024 Euros international duty with the Swiss national team, but he's not yet back with the Fire. Head coach Frank Klopas said Wednesday "...He’s going to have some time off and we are still deciding when that return date will be. He’s not going to be here for NYCFC." Maybe that's good news for the Fire? The 32-year-old scored a banger for Switzerland, but Chicago are noticeably better after he left the squad. The Fire have a record of 3W-2D-3L without Shaqiri, and 2W-4D-8L with him.
• The Fire have conceded the most penalties in MLS, whistled for seven so far this season, and they also rank third-worst in MLS with 13 defensive errors that led directly to an opponent's shot. They've got a mistake in them.
• Burning to learn even more about the Fire? You'll want to read "Oppo Research: 5 Things about Chicago Fire," in which Joe Chatz of On Tap Sports Net tells us about the club's regression, the frustrating front office, and why striker Hugo Cuypers is always dangerous.

Oppo Research: 5 Things about Chicago Fire

Joe Chatz of On Tap Sports Net tells us about Chicago’s regression, the frustrating front office, Hugo Cuypers, and why the defense can be a liability.

Hudson River BlueMatthew Mangam