Saturday , 12 September 2026

Chicago Fire FC vs FC Cincinnati, MLS 2026 REGULAR SEASON

MLS · 2026
Chicago Fire FC
2 – 3
Full Time
FC Cincinnati
Sun 3 May 2026 · 00:30 UTC Soldier Field HT 45' · FT 45'
Hugo Cuypers 16' 1–0
1–1 24' Evander
Hugo Cuypers 28' 2–1
2–2 31' Evander
2–3 90+7' Evander pen
R 56' Kyle Smith
Y 68' Kevin Denkey
Y 90' Ayoub Lajhar
Dje Davilla 90' Y
Y 90' Andrei Chirila

Overview

Match Preview

Chicago Fire FC vs FC Cincinnati — MLS at Soldier Field.

Match Details

  • Referee Joe Dickerson
  • Assistant 1 Cameron Blanchard (USA)
  • Assistant 2 Logan Brown
8 games this season 🟨 3.4/game ⚽ 14.6 goals/game 🟥 1 total

Standings

# Team P Pts
1 Nashville SC 24 53
2 Internacional CF Miami 24 44
3 New England Revolution 24 40
4 Chicago Fire FC 23 39
5 Charlotte FC 24 39
6 FC Cincinnati 23 31
7 Orlando City SC 24 31
8 Philadelphia Union 24 30
9 New York City FC 24 29
10 Toronto FC 24 29
11 D.C. United SC 23 28
12 New York Red Bulls 24 27
13 Columbus Crew SC 24 23
14 Atlanta United FC 24 22
15 Montreal Impact FC 24 21
16 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 23 46
17 Houston Dynamo 24 43
18 Los Angeles FC 25 40
19 FC Dallas 24 40
20 San Jose Earthquakes 24 38
21 St. Louis City 24 38
22 Portland Timbers 24 32
23 Colorado Rapids SC 24 32
24 San Diego FC 24 30
25 Real Salt Lake 23 29
26 Minnesota United FC 24 29
27 Los Angeles Galaxy 25 29
28 Seattle Sounders FC 22 27
29 Austin FC 24 26
30 Sporting Kansas City 23 15

Head-to-Head

4
4
8
Chicago Fire FC 16 games · Avg 3.3 goals FC Cincinnati
Last 5 meetings
2026-05-03 Chicago Fire FC 2–3 FC Cincinnati 2026-04-18 FC Cincinnati 3–3 Chicago Fire FC 2025-07-05 FC Cincinnati 2–1 Chicago Fire FC 2025-04-20 Chicago Fire FC 2–3 FC Cincinnati 2024-07-17 FC Cincinnati 0–1 Chicago Fire FC

Recent Form

Chicago Fire FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
03 May FC Cincinnati H 2–3 L
26 Apr Sporting Kansas City H 5–0 W
18 Apr FC Cincinnati A 3–3 D
12 Apr Atlanta United FC H 1–0 W
05 Apr Nashville SC H 1–0 W
21 Mar Philadelphia Union A 2–1 W
FC Cincinnati
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
03 May Chicago Fire FC A 3–2 W
25 Apr New York Red Bulls H 2–0 W
22 Apr New York City FC A 4–4 D
18 Apr Chicago Fire FC H 3–3 D
11 Apr Toronto FC A 1–1 D
04 Apr New York Red Bulls A 2–4 L

Season Stats

Chicago Fire FC FC Cincinnati
#4 Position #6
39 Points 31
23 Played 23
11 / 6 / 6 W / D / L 8 / 7 / 8
44 Scored 49
33 Conceded 56
+11 GD -7
1.70 PPG 1.35
48% Win % 35%

Key Stats

63% Both Teams to Score
H2H (16 games)
69% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
30% Clean Sheets
Chicago Fire FC this season
17% Clean Sheets
FC Cincinnati this season

Chicago Fire FC are 4th (39 pts). FC Cincinnati are 6th (31 pts).

Goal Timing (This Season)

Chicago Fire FC
0-15
7/2
16-30
7/5
31-45
3/6
46-60
3/5
61-75
7/–
76+
3/7
■ Scored ■ Conceded
FC Cincinnati
0-15
3/2
16-30
5/7
31-45
9/8
46-60
4/9
61-75
2/2
76+
11/7
■ Scored ■ Conceded

Top Scorers (This Season)

Chicago Fire FC
Hugo Cuypers 11 G
Maren Haile-Selassie 7 G 3 A
Philip Zinckernagel 5 G 4 A
FC Cincinnati
Evander 13 G 7 A
Kevin Denkey 11 G 1 A
Tom Barlow 6 G 1 A

Events

Match Events

  • 0' In just a few seconds Soldier Field will turn into a battlefield for Chicago Fire FC and FC Cincinnati.
  • 5' The tempo has dropped considerably in the last few minutes. Gregg Berhalter will be considering his options from the bench.
  • 10' While players are taking a pause, let’s have a look at their stats. The teams met 2 times this season with FC Cincinnati winning 50% of all matches.
  • 15' FC Cincinnati fans have not had much to celebrate tonight. Their side is struggling to get forward.
  • 16' Against the run of play, Hugo Cuypers has scored! This game has turned on its head.
  • 21' Evander has been relatively quiet despite scoring 58 goals in his last 292 appearances.
  • 24' Evander has been a constant threat and now delivers with a goal on 24 minutes.
  • 28' Clinical. Composed. Brilliant. Hugo Cuypers makes it 2-1.
  • 31' Evander makes no mistake. The score reads 2-2 and FC Cincinnati are in front.
  • 36' The midfield battle is intense right now. Both Chicago Fire FC and FC Cincinnati are fighting for every inch of the pitch.
  • 41' Chicago Fire FC is defending very well tonight not leaving a chance for their rivals to get through for a goal.
  • 46' Kyle Smith needs to be pretty careful with his discipline considering 0 Yellow cards this season.
  • 51' Chicago Fire FC currently sit 3 in the Array table. A result here could be decisive in the race for the top positions.
  • 56' It’s a booking for FC Cincinnati player. Kyle Smith gets a card.
  • 61' Players seem to put ease on their energy level Spectators hardly appreciate such approach. Teams need to speed up the tempo.
  • 66' FC Cincinnati are keeping things exceptionally tight at the back. It will take something special to break them down.
  • 68' The referee reaches into his pocket. Out comes the card for Kevin Denkey.
  • 73' Maren Haile-Selassie is putting in a real shift tonight. He has covered more ground than anyone else for Chicago Fire FC so far.
  • 78' FC Cincinnati are happy to let the opposition have the ball in their own half. The trap is set.
  • 83' Philip Zinckernagel is a natural and has been asked to do a very specific job for Chicago Fire FC tonight.
  • 88' Spectators do not have much to choose from both teams. The sides had several scoring chances but they still need a bit more than just a sight of a goal.
  • 90' Controversy at the stadium! Ayoub Lajhar argues furiously but the card stands.
  • FC Cincinnati celebrates a vital win. Three points that could prove pivotal come season's end.

Lineups

Chicago Fire FC Lineups

4-2-3-1

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Gregg Berhalter

FC Cincinnati Lineups

3-4-1-2

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Pat Noonan

H2H

H2H Top Scorers

PlayerGoals
Evander 7
Hugo Cuypers 5
Luciano Acosta 4
Robert Beric 3
Jhon Duran 3
Brian Gutierrez 3
Kevin Denkey 2
Junior Moreno 2

Head to Head

2026-05-03 Chicago Fire FC 2–3 FC Cincinnati 2026-04-18 FC Cincinnati 3–3 Chicago Fire FC 2025-07-05 FC Cincinnati 2–1 Chicago Fire FC 2025-04-20 Chicago Fire FC 2–3 FC Cincinnati 2024-07-17 FC Cincinnati 0–1 Chicago Fire FC

Chicago Fire FC Form

2026-05-03 Chicago Fire FC 2–3 FC Cincinnati L 2026-04-26 Chicago Fire FC 5–0 Sporting Kansas City W 2026-04-18 FC Cincinnati 3–3 Chicago Fire FC D 2026-04-12 Chicago Fire FC 1–0 Atlanta United FC W 2026-04-05 Chicago Fire FC 1–0 Nashville SC W 2026-03-21 Philadelphia Union 1–2 Chicago Fire FC W

FC Cincinnati Form

2026-05-03 Chicago Fire FC 2–3 FC Cincinnati W 2026-04-25 FC Cincinnati 2–0 New York Red Bulls W 2026-04-22 New York City FC 4–4 FC Cincinnati D 2026-04-18 FC Cincinnati 3–3 Chicago Fire FC D 2026-04-11 Toronto FC 1–1 FC Cincinnati D 2026-04-04 New York Red Bulls 4–2 FC Cincinnati L

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
2 / 4
2.85 Chicago Fire FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.94 FC Cincinnati xG
I would bet for: Over 2.5 goals 84% + Both teams to score 80%

Match Result

✗ Wrong
Chicago Fire FC50% Draw22% FC Cincinnati28%
Actual: FC Cincinnati win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes80% 0% No20%
Avg goals/match: 4.79
Actual: Yes — both scored

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 98%
2%
± 1.5 95%
5%
± 2.5 84%
16%
± 3.5 69%
31%
± 4.5 51%
49%

Double Chance

Chicago Fire FC or Draw
72%
Draw or FC Cincinnati
50%
Chicago Fire FC or FC Cincinnati
78%

Half-Time Result

✗ Wrong
Chicago Fire FC44% Draw33% FC Cincinnati23%
Actual: Draw at HT

Correct Score

✓ In top 12
2 – 1
6.5%
2 – 2
6.2%
3 – 1
6%
3 – 2
5.8%
1 – 1
5.3%
1 – 2
4.5%
4 – 1
4.3%
4 – 2
4.1%
2 – 3
Actual
3 – 3
3.7%
2 – 0
3.6%
3 – 0
3.3%

Asian Handicap — Chicago Fire FC

Handicap Chicago Fire FC covers Push FC Cincinnati covers
-2.5 22% — 78%
-2 22% 16% 62%
-1.5 38% — 62%
-1 38% 18% 44%
-0.5 56% — 44%
+0.5 74% — 26%
+1 74% 12% 13%
+1.5 87% — 13%
+2 87% 8% 6%
+2.5 94% — 6%

Clean Sheet

Chicago Fire FC keeps clean sheet
15% ✓
FC Cincinnati keeps clean sheet
7% ✓

Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.