• Matchday 28: Chicago Fire FC vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Saturday, September 13, 8:30 pm ET
• Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
• Forecast: Warm and humid, temperatures dropping after sunset, 76F/24C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Jessica Charman and Kacey White (English), Nacho Garcia and Francisco Pinto (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Pierre-Luc Lauziere (referee), Jeremy Kieso and Jeffrey Greeson (assistant referees), Benjamin Meyer (fourth official), Kevin Terry Jr. (VAR), Jonathan Johnson (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the sky-blue Excelsior Kit, while Chicago will be in the fire-engine Return to Red Kit
The international break is over and now the playoff race heats up for New York City FC as they travel to the Windy City to face Chicago Fire FC on Matchday 28.
It's a playoff six-pointer between the 8th and 9th Place teams in the MLS Eastern Conference at Soldier Field, as New York City enters two points ahead of the Fire, though with NYCFC having played one less game. Yes, it's the part of the season where you're paying extra-close attention to the table with every twist and turn of every Matchday.
This trip to Chicago kicks off the busiest stretch of the remaining regular season for New York City, the first of five matches to be played in 14 days. All five teams NYCFC face in that window are direct rivals for playoff qualification and positioning, depending on the team, and beginning with the Fire.
NYCFC-Fire is a matchup of head coaches in their first seasons with their clubs, with both Pascal Jansen and Gregg Berhalter looking to secure playoff qualification in their debut campaigns with their new teams.
Jansen got the upper hand on Berhalter when they last met, but the other playoff stakes are much higher for this go-round in Chicago, and the Fire are, ahem, hot with a 4W-2D-1L record in MLS since July 16.
Oliver Strand
New York City vs Chicago H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 37 | 23 | 14 |
New York City have dominated Chicago over the years, losing just three times in 23 matches. NYCFC's last win came in May, when they rallied with three second-half goals to win 3-1 at Yankee Stadium after going down early. And Chicago's last win in the head-to-head? That came on September 29, 2021, almost four years ago.
