FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire FC, MLS 2026 REGULAR SEASON
Overview
Match Preview
FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire FC — MLS .
- FC Cincinnati 15 games · 20 pts (2026/26)
- Chicago Fire FC 14 games · 26 pts (2026/26)
Match Details
- Referee Fotis Bazakos
- Referee Baldomero Toledo
- Referee Apolinar Mariscal
- Referee Kevin Terry Jr.
- Referee Ian McKay
7 games this season
🟨 2.4/game
⚽ 11.6 goals/game
🟥 1 total
Standings
| # | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville SC | 14 | 33 |
| 2 | Internacional CF Miami | 15 | 31 |
| 3 | Chicago Fire FC | 14 | 26 |
| 4 | New England Revolution | 14 | 25 |
| 5 | New York Red Bulls | 15 | 22 |
| 6 | Charlotte FC | 15 | 21 |
| 7 | FC Cincinnati | 15 | 20 |
| 8 | New York City FC | 15 | 19 |
| 9 | D.C. United SC | 15 | 18 |
| 10 | Columbus Crew SC | 15 | 16 |
| 11 | Toronto FC | 14 | 14 |
| 12 | Montreal Impact FC | 14 | 14 |
| 13 | Orlando City SC | 15 | 14 |
| 14 | Atlanta United FC | 14 | 11 |
| 15 | Philadelphia Union | 15 | 7 |
| 16 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 14 | 32 |
| 17 | San Jose Earthquakes | 15 | 32 |
| 18 | Real Salt Lake | 14 | 26 |
| 19 | FC Dallas | 15 | 25 |
| 20 | Los Angeles FC | 15 | 24 |
| 21 | Seattle Sounders FC | 13 | 24 |
| 22 | Houston Dynamo | 14 | 22 |
| 23 | Minnesota United FC | 15 | 22 |
| 24 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 15 | 20 |
| 25 | San Diego FC | 15 | 17 |
| 26 | Colorado Rapids SC | 15 | 16 |
| 27 | St. Louis City | 14 | 16 |
| 28 | Portland Timbers | 14 | 14 |
| 29 | Austin FC | 15 | 14 |
| 30 | Sporting Kansas City | 14 | 11 |
Head-to-Head
Recent Form
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep | Chicago Fire FC | H | 0–0 | D |
| 18 Sep | Atlanta United FC | H | 0–2 | L |
| 14 Sep | Montreal Impact FC | A | 1–0 | W |
| 07 Sep | Toronto FC | H | 1–5 | L |
| 01 Sep | FC Dallas | A | 1–3 | L |
| 25 Aug | Columbus Crew SC | H | 1–3 | L |
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep | FC Cincinnati | A | 0–0 | D |
| 14 Sep | FC Dallas | H | 4–0 | W |
| 31 Aug | Columbus Crew SC | A | 1–1 | D |
| 24 Aug | New England Revolution | A | 1–2 | L |
| 18 Aug | Philadelphia Union | H | 2–0 | W |
| 15 Aug | Portland Timbers | A | 2–3 | L |
Season Stats
| FC Cincinnati | Chicago Fire FC | |
|---|---|---|
| #7 | Position | #3 |
| 20 | Points | 26 |
| 15 | Played | 14 |
| 5 / 5 / 5 | W / D / L | 8 / 2 / 4 |
| 36 | Scored | 27 |
| 37 | Conceded | 16 |
| -1 | GD | +11 |
| 1.33 | PPG | 1.86 |
| 33% | Win % | 57% |
Key Stats
63%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (16 games)
H2H (16 games)
69%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
27%
Clean Sheets
FC Cincinnati this season
FC Cincinnati this season
50%
Clean Sheets
Chicago Fire FC this season
Chicago Fire FC this season
FC Cincinnati are 7th (20 pts). Chicago Fire FC are 3rd (26 pts).
Goal Timing (This Season)
FC Cincinnati
0-15
1/1
16-30
2/5
31-45
7/3
46-60
3/4
61-75
2/1
76+
8/3
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Chicago Fire FC
0-15
3/–
16-30
4/1
31-45
1/4
46-60
2/1
61-75
4/–
76+
2/3
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Events
Match Events
- 0' That's the starting whistle at . Ninety minutes of football awaits between FC Cincinnati and Chicago Fire FC.
- 5' Not even hints on scoring a goal over the last 5 minutes.
- 10' Dax McCarty has been relatively quiet despite scoring 4 goals in his last 275 appearances.
- 15' will be watching from the dugout nervously. His FC Cincinnati side need to improve if they are to claim all three points.
- 20' The referee has no hesitation. Kendall Waston is booked for FC Cincinnati — Yellow card on 20.
- 25' The referee does not hesitate — a Yellow card for C.J. Sapong on 25 minutes.
- 30' The referee does not hesitate — a Yellow card for Dax McCarty on 30 minutes.
- 35' FC Cincinnati is showing some good football. However, FC Cincinnati are ready to play back every minute. It might result in some problems for the home side. The game will hardly remain goalless.
- 40' FC Cincinnati is defending very well tonight not leaving a chance for their rivals to get through for a goal.
- 45' The energy levels are beginning to show. Veljko Paunovic might look to freshen things up shortly.
- 46' Fresh legs for FC Cincinnati! Joe Gyau comes on to replace Rashawn Dally.
- 51' Chicago Fire FC are keeping things exceptionally tight at the back. It will take something special to break them down.
- 56' Neither side is committing men forward. This has all the hallmarks of a tense, tactical contest.
- 58' Chicago Fire SC manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Djordje Mihailovic is hanging Nicolas Gaitan on the field on 58 minute.
- 63' It’s high time Ron Jans made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
- 64' The FC Cincinnati manager makes a substitution. Derrick Etienne departs to be replaced by Roland Lamah.
- 66' Another substitution for Chicago Fire SC to replace C.J. Sapong by Aleksandar Katai on 66 minute.
- 71' FC Cincinnati are enjoying more possession but struggling to find a way through a disciplined Chicago Fire FC backline.
- 76' Chicago Fire FC come into this ranked in Array. They desperately need points to push themselves up the standings.
- 77' Chicago Fire SC manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. Fabian Herbers is hanging Brandt Bronico on the field on 77 minute.
- 82' It looks surprising Chicago Fire FC does not make any changes. Thomas McCabe has some obvious troubles when approaching to the goal.
- 87' Both teams are passing the ball around with high level of urgency. FC Cincinnati needs to do something about it to get closer to the goal.
- 90' Another change for FC Cincinnati made on 90 minute. Leonardo Bertone leaves to be changed by Andrew Gutman.
- Hope, you loved the show. Another epic battle is over with the score 0-0.
Lineups
FC Cincinnati Lineups
Starting XI
- 23
- 17
- 22
-
16
Derrick Etienne ↓ Roland Lamah 64'
- 2
- 6
- 4
- 45
- 24
-
81
Rashawn Dally ↓ Joe Gyau 46'
- 26
Bench
-
36
Joe Gyau ↑ 46'
-
7
Roland Lamah ↑ 64'
- 8
- 14
- 13
-
96
Andrew Gutman ↑ 90'
Coach
Ron Jans
Chicago Fire FC Lineups
Starting XI
- 27
-
9
C.J. Sapong ↓ Aleksandar Katai 66'
- 11
- 5
- 31
- 23
-
13
Brandt Bronico ↓ Fabian Herbers 77'
- 6
- 4
- 20
- 3
Bench
- 2
-
21
Fabian Herbers ↑ 77'
-
10
Aleksandar Katai ↑ 66'
- 45
-
14
Djordje Mihailovic ↑ 58'
- 16
- 33
Coach
Veljko Paunovic
H2H
H2H Top Scorers
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Evander | 7 |
| Hugo Cuypers | 5 |
| Luciano Acosta | 4 |
| Jhon Duran | 3 |
| Brian Gutierrez | 3 |
| Robert Beric | 3 |
| Junior Moreno | 2 |
| Philip Zinckernagel | 2 |
Head to Head
FC Cincinnati Form
Chicago Fire FC Form
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
1 / 4
1.41
FC Cincinnati xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.95
Chicago Fire FC xG
I would bet for:
FC Cincinnati or Chicago Fire FC 75% + Both teams to score 65%
Match Result
✗ WrongActual: Draw
Both Teams to Score
✗ Wrong
Avg goals/match: 3.36
Actual: No — clean sheet
Over / Under Goals
✗ O/U 2.5| Line | Over | Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ± 0.5 | 95% |
|
5% |
| ± 1.5 | 85% |
|
15% |
| ± 2.5 | 64% |
|
36% |
| ± 3.5 | 43% |
|
57% |
| ± 4.5 | 25% |
|
75% |
Double Chance
FC Cincinnati or Draw
57%
Draw or Chicago Fire FC
68%
FC Cincinnati or Chicago Fire FC
75%
Half-Time Result
✓ CorrectActual: Draw at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
1 – 1
10.4%
1 – 2
9%
0 – 2
6.6%
2 – 1
6.5%
2 – 2
6.3%
0 – 1
6.1%
1 – 3
5.8%
0 – 0
Actual
0 – 3
4.2%
1 – 0
4.2%
2 – 3
4.1%
2 – 0
3.5%
Asian Handicap — FC Cincinnati
| Handicap | FC Cincinnati covers | Push | Chicago Fire FC covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 4% | — | 96% |
| -2 | 4% | 8% | 88% |
| -1.5 | 12% | — | 88% |
| -1 | 12% | 15% | 73% |
| -0.5 | 27% | — | 73% |
| +0.5 | 51% | — | 49% |
| +1 | 51% | 20% | 29% |
| +1.5 | 71% | — | 29% |
| +2 | 71% | 15% | 14% |
| +2.5 | 86% | — | 14% |
Clean Sheet
FC Cincinnati keeps clean sheet
15%
✗
Chicago Fire FC keeps clean sheet
25%
✗
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.