FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire FC, MLS 2026 REGULAR SEASON
Overview
Match Preview
FC Cincinnati vs Chicago Fire FC — MLS at Nippert Stadium.
- FC Cincinnati 18 games · 26 pts (2026/26)
- Chicago Fire FC 17 games · 29 pts (2026/26)
Match Details
- Referee Sorin Stoica
- Referee M. de Oliveira
- Referee Peter Manikowski
- Referee Ismir Pekmic
- Referee
Standings
| # | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville SC | 18 | 40 |
| 2 | Internacional CF Miami | 18 | 38 |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 18 | 30 |
| 4 | Chicago Fire FC | 17 | 29 |
| 5 | New York City FC | 18 | 26 |
| 6 | FC Cincinnati | 18 | 26 |
| 7 | Charlotte FC | 18 | 25 |
| 8 | New York Red Bulls | 18 | 25 |
| 9 | D.C. United SC | 18 | 23 |
| 10 | Columbus Crew SC | 18 | 20 |
| 11 | Orlando City SC | 18 | 20 |
| 12 | Toronto FC | 18 | 17 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Union | 18 | 16 |
| 14 | Montreal Impact FC | 18 | 16 |
| 15 | Atlanta United FC | 18 | 12 |
| 16 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 17 | 34 |
| 17 | Los Angeles FC | 19 | 34 |
| 18 | San Jose Earthquakes | 18 | 33 |
| 19 | Houston Dynamo | 18 | 32 |
| 20 | FC Dallas | 18 | 27 |
| 21 | Real Salt Lake | 17 | 27 |
| 22 | St. Louis City | 18 | 26 |
| 23 | Portland Timbers | 18 | 24 |
| 24 | Seattle Sounders FC | 17 | 24 |
| 25 | Minnesota United FC | 18 | 24 |
| 26 | Colorado Rapids SC | 18 | 22 |
| 27 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 19 | 22 |
| 28 | San Diego FC | 18 | 21 |
| 29 | Austin FC | 18 | 17 |
| 30 | Sporting Kansas City | 18 | 14 |
Head-to-Head
Recent Form
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Sep | Chicago Fire FC | H | 0–0 | D |
| 29 Aug | Columbus Crew SC | H | 0–0 | D |
| 25 Aug | Chicago Fire FC | A | 0–3 | L |
| 21 Aug | D.C. United SC | H | 0–0 | D |
| 29 Jul | Portland Timbers | A | 1–1 | D |
| 23 Jul | New York Red Bulls | H | 2–0 | W |
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02 Sep | FC Cincinnati | A | 0–0 | D |
| 29 Aug | New York City FC | A | 1–3 | L |
| 25 Aug | FC Cincinnati | H | 3–0 | W |
| 20 Aug | Columbus Crew SC | A | 0–3 | L |
| 23 Jul | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | H | 0–2 | L |
| 20 Jul | San Jose Earthquakes | H | 0–2 | L |
Season Stats
| FC Cincinnati | Chicago Fire FC | |
|---|---|---|
| #6 | Position | #4 |
| 26 | Points | 29 |
| 18 | Played | 17 |
| 7 / 5 / 6 | W / D / L | 9 / 2 / 6 |
| 45 | Scored | 32 |
| 44 | Conceded | 23 |
| +1 | GD | +9 |
| 1.44 | PPG | 1.71 |
| 39% | Win % | 53% |
Key Stats
63%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (16 games)
H2H (16 games)
69%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
21%
Clean Sheets
FC Cincinnati this season
FC Cincinnati this season
41%
Clean Sheets
Chicago Fire FC this season
Chicago Fire FC this season
FC Cincinnati are 6th (26 pts). Chicago Fire FC are 4th (29 pts).
Goal Timing (This Season)
FC Cincinnati
0-15
3/2
16-30
4/7
31-45
9/5
46-60
4/7
61-75
2/1
76+
11/3
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Chicago Fire FC
0-15
3/1
16-30
7/4
31-45
1/5
46-60
2/2
61-75
6/–
76+
2/4
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Top Scorers (This Season)
FC Cincinnati
| Evander | 10 G | 4 A |
| Kevin Denkey | 10 G | 1 A |
| Tom Barlow | 5 G |
Chicago Fire FC
| Hugo Cuypers | 11 G | |
| Philip Zinckernagel | 5 G | 4 A |
Events
Match Events
- 0' The wait is over. FC Cincinnati get us underway at Nippert Stadium.
- 5' It is a cagey affair so far. FC Cincinnati in their trying to find a way past Chicago Fire FC's compact .
- 10' The travelling Chicago Fire FC supporters hardly appreciate their team being pressed down to the backline.
- 15' The tempo has dropped considerably in the last few minutes. Jaap Stam will be considering his options from the bench.
- 20' Players seem to put ease on their energy level Spectators hardly appreciate such approach. Teams need to speed up the tempo.
- 25' The clock is ticking and both teams know a goal could change everything at this point.
- 30' 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.
- 35' The referee is likely to let players tackle, as he already missed some meaty challenges during opening seconds. He is still to establish what should not be done by the players and what is acceptable on the pitch. It’s going to be a tough game for Przemyslaw Frankowski suffering a number of foals already.
- 40' named a earlier, and opted for a in response. A fascinating tactical duel is developing.
- 45' Chicago Fire FC come into this ranked in Array. They desperately need points to push themselves up the standings.
- 50' Chicago Fire FC fans have not had much to celebrate tonight. Their side is struggling to get forward.
- 55' It looks surprising FC Cincinnati does not make any changes. Jurgen Locadia has some obvious troubles when approaching to the goal.
- 60' The home supporters are growing impatient. FC Cincinnati must find a spark to ignite this game.
- 62' Djordje Mihailovic gets the nod from Chicago Fire FC. He replaces Fabian Herbers and will look to change the dynamic.
- 63' Yuya Kubo is ready to make an impact after coming on for Siem de Jong at the 63 minute mark.
- 68' It’s high time Raphaël Wicky made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
- 70' Assisted by Elliot Collier with the perfectly-timed delivery and Ignacio Aliseda makes no mistake. 0-1!
- 75' FC Cincinnati looks like a favorite considering 1 games won in last 2 matches with its main striker Evander scoring 4 goals.
- 76' Greg Garza makes way for Andrew Gutman at the 76 minute mark. A tactical switch from FC Cincinnati.
- 81' Francisco Calvo has been one of the livelier players on the pitch with 0 goals to his name this season.
- 86' The crowd applauds Haris Medunjanin as he leaves the pitch. Caleb Stanko steps in for FC Cincinnati.
- 90' The Chicago Fire FC bench stirs into life. Mauricio Pineda is withdrawn and Wyatt Omsberg gets his opportunity.
- 90' Controversy at the stadium! Mathieu Deplagne argues furiously but the Yellow card stands.
- will have plenty to reflect on. were simply the better side today.
Lineups
FC Cincinnati Lineups
Starting XI
- 10
- 23
- 17
- 36
- 22
-
11
Siem de Jong ↓ Yuya Kubo 63'
-
6
Haris Medunjanin ↓ Caleb Stanko 86'
- 2
-
4
Greg Garza ↓ Andrew Gutman 76'
-
9
Adrien Regattin ↓ Allan Cruz 63'
- 24
Bench
-
33
Caleb Stanko ↑ 86'
-
7
Yuya Kubo ↑ 63'
- 14
-
8
Allan Cruz ↑ 63'
- 19
-
96
Andrew Gutman ↑ 76'
- 1
- 3
- 16
Coach
Jaap Stam
Chicago Fire FC Lineups
Starting XI
- 27
- 10
- 21
- 11
- 5
- 1
- 7
- 30
- 2
- 6
-
22
Mauricio Pineda ↓ Wyatt Omsberg 90'
Bench
- 24
- 13
-
14
Djordje Mihailovic ↑ 62'
- 16
-
20
Wyatt Omsberg ↑ 90'
-
28
Elliot Collier ↑ 62'
- 36
-
3
Jonathan Bornstein ↑ 62'
- 40
Coach
Raphaël Wicky
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
2020-09-02
FC Cincinnati
0–0
Chicago Fire FC
D
2020-08-29
New York City FC
3–1
Chicago Fire FC
L
2020-08-25
Chicago Fire FC
3–0
FC Cincinnati
W
2020-08-20
Columbus Crew SC
3–0
Chicago Fire FC
L
2020-07-23
Chicago Fire FC
0–2
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
L
2020-07-20
Chicago Fire FC
0–2
San Jose Earthquakes
L
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
1 / 4
1.65
FC Cincinnati xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.63
Chicago Fire FC xG
I would bet for:
FC Cincinnati or Chicago Fire FC 74% + Both teams to score 65%
Match Result
✗ WrongActual: Draw
Both Teams to Score
✗ Wrong
Avg goals/match: 3.28
Actual: No — clean sheet
Over / Under Goals
✗ O/U 2.5| Line | Over | Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ± 0.5 | 95% |
|
5% |
| ± 1.5 | 84% |
|
16% |
| ± 2.5 | 63% |
|
37% |
| ± 3.5 | 41% |
|
59% |
| ± 4.5 | 24% |
|
76% |
Double Chance
FC Cincinnati or Draw
66%
Draw or Chicago Fire FC
60%
FC Cincinnati or Chicago Fire FC
74%
Half-Time Result
✓ CorrectActual: Draw at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
1 – 1
11%
2 – 1
8.1%
1 – 2
7.9%
2 – 2
6.5%
1 – 0
5.5%
0 – 1
5.4%
0 – 0
Actual
2 – 0
5.1%
0 – 2
5%
3 – 1
4.4%
1 – 3
4.3%
3 – 2
3.6%
Asian Handicap — FC Cincinnati
| Handicap | FC Cincinnati covers | Push | Chicago Fire FC covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 8% | — | 92% |
| -2 | 8% | 11% | 80% |
| -1.5 | 20% | — | 80% |
| -1 | 20% | 18% | 62% |
| -0.5 | 38% | — | 62% |
| +0.5 | 63% | — | 37% |
| +1 | 63% | 18% | 19% |
| +1.5 | 81% | — | 19% |
| +2 | 81% | 11% | 8% |
| +2.5 | 92% | — | 8% |
Clean Sheet
FC Cincinnati keeps clean sheet
20%
✗
Chicago Fire FC keeps clean sheet
20%
✗
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.