It’s Matchday 26 and New York City FC returns to league action by hosting Chicago Fire in the World’s Borough of Queens.
NYCFC is back from Leagues Cup camp, having made friends, messed around, caused trouble and generally feeling a little more grown up after a few weeks away from home. Now they’re back to trying to climb to the top of the Eastern Conference and secure home advantage for the first round of the best-of-three MLS Cup Playoffs.
• Matchday 26: New York City FC vs Chicago Fire
• Date and Time: Saturday, August 24, 7:30 p.m. ET
• Venue: Citi Field
• Weather forecast: Warm, windy, 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)
• Referee team: Malik Badawi (referee), Brian Dunn and Benn Pilgrim (assistant referees), Jeremy Scheer (fourth official), Jon Freemon (VAR), Jonathan Johnson (VAR assistant)
• Jerseys: New York City will again play in black and wear the “24/7 jersey”; Chicago will wear its white “Water Tower jersey.”
Chicago sits 14th in the Eastern Conference with 25 points, just three points off the playoffs. The club, looking lighter and better after the abolition of Xherdan Shaqiri’s over-extended contract, will be looking to climb the table despite having only two away wins this year – and never winning a game in New York City.
9 games left: What awaits New York City FC
With MLS play resuming on Saturday, let’s take a look at the state of this NYCFC team.
New York City vs Chicago H2H
| General medicine | B | D | M | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 32 | 20 | 12 |
New York City dominates the head-to-head, losing just three times in 10 years. More importantly, Chicago has never won in New York City, going scoreless six times in 10 games.
One of those games came last October, when New York City beat Chicago 1-0 on Decision Day, in a game moved from Red Bull Arena to Citi Field. The last time Chicago beat New York City was on September 29, 2021, when a six-game winless streak made #RonnyOut trending on social media.
The two teams last played a 0-0 tie at Soldier Field on July 13 as New York City battled through a four-game road trip that had the team competing in the humid climates of Austin, Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando.
New York City FC
• Player availability: Striker Malachi Jones (leg) and midfielder Andrés Perea (leg) remain out.
• New York City’s home record of 8 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses is the second best in the Eastern Conference, only better than Inter Miami’s 8 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses.
• The team currently sits fifth in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the New York Red Bulls. A fourth-place finish will give them home advantage in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, a best-of-three home-away home tie.
• Will the attacking line start scoring goals? Guest writer Matthew Magnum examines how NYCFC’s attack could get even better.
How NYCFC’s attack could be even better
New York City FC’s attack is much stronger this season, but the team still struggles to convert chances, score points away from home, and score goals with its forwards.
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 may have only two away wins this season, one of which came against FC Cincinnati on July 17. The hosts did not have Luciano Acosta in their squad that day, but a result is a result.
• The attack is led by Hugo Cuypers, who has scored nine goals in 25 MLS appearances. To learn more about this team, be sure to read “Oppo Research: 5 Things to Know About Chicago Fire.”
Oppo Research: 5 things about Chicago Fire
On Tap Sports Net’s Joe Chatz talks to us about Chicago’s chance to end a six-year playoff drought, the departure of Xherdan Shaqiri, the return of Hugo Cuypers and why the Fire need more shooting.
