Sporting Kansas City vs Chicago Fire FC, MLS 2026 REGULAR SEASON
Overview
Match Preview
Sporting Kansas City vs Chicago Fire FC — MLS at Children's Mercy Park.
- Sporting Kansas City 26 games · 21 pts (2026/26)
- Chicago Fire FC 26 games · 42 pts (2026/26)
Match Details
- Referee M. de Oliveira
- Referee Brian Poeschel
- Referee Jorge Gonzalez
- Referee Cory Richardson
- Referee Ismir Pekmic
6 games this season
🟨 2.0/game
⚽ 7.8 goals/game
Standings
| # | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nashville SC | 27 | 60 |
| 2 | Internacional CF Miami | 27 | 46 |
| 3 | New England Revolution | 27 | 46 |
| 4 | Charlotte FC | 27 | 43 |
| 5 | Chicago Fire FC | 26 | 42 |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | 27 | 39 |
| 7 | Orlando City SC | 27 | 34 |
| 8 | New York City FC | 27 | 33 |
| 9 | FC Cincinnati | 26 | 33 |
| 10 | New York Red Bulls | 26 | 33 |
| 11 | D.C. United SC | 26 | 30 |
| 12 | Columbus Crew SC | 27 | 29 |
| 13 | Toronto FC | 27 | 29 |
| 14 | Atlanta United FC | 27 | 27 |
| 15 | Montreal Impact FC | 27 | 24 |
| 16 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 26 | 50 |
| 17 | FC Dallas | 27 | 47 |
| 18 | San Jose Earthquakes | 27 | 45 |
| 19 | St. Louis City | 26 | 44 |
| 20 | Houston Dynamo | 27 | 44 |
| 21 | Los Angeles FC | 28 | 41 |
| 22 | Colorado Rapids SC | 27 | 36 |
| 23 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 28 | 36 |
| 24 | Seattle Sounders FC | 26 | 35 |
| 25 | San Diego FC | 27 | 32 |
| 26 | Portland Timbers | 27 | 32 |
| 27 | Real Salt Lake | 27 | 32 |
| 28 | Austin FC | 27 | 31 |
| 29 | Minnesota United FC | 27 | 29 |
| 30 | Sporting Kansas City | 26 | 21 |
Head-to-Head
Recent Form
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08 Oct | Chicago Fire FC | H | 1–0 | W |
| 04 Oct | Houston Dynamo | A | 2–1 | W |
| 23 Sep | Orlando City SC | H | 1–2 | L |
| 19 Sep | FC Dallas | H | 2–3 | L |
| 14 Sep | Minnesota United FC | H | 1–0 | W |
| 06 Sep | Houston Dynamo | A | 1–2 | L |
| Date | Opponent | H/A | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08 Oct | Sporting Kansas City | A | 0–1 | L |
| 03 Oct | Montreal Impact FC | A | 2–2 | D |
| 27 Sep | Atlanta United FC | H | 2–0 | W |
| 23 Sep | Houston Dynamo | H | 4–0 | W |
| 19 Sep | Orlando City SC | A | 1–4 | L |
| 12 Sep | Columbus Crew SC | H | 2–2 | D |
Season Stats
| Sporting Kansas City | Chicago Fire FC | |
|---|---|---|
| #30 | Position | #5 |
| 21 | Points | 42 |
| 26 | Played | 26 |
| 6 / 3 / 17 | W / D / L | 12 / 6 / 8 |
| 31 | Scored | 46 |
| 63 | Conceded | 38 |
| -32 | GD | +8 |
| 0.81 | PPG | 1.62 |
| 23% | Win % | 46% |
Key Stats
38%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (8 games)
H2H (8 games)
50%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
4%
Clean Sheets
Sporting Kansas City this season
Sporting Kansas City this season
31%
Clean Sheets
Chicago Fire FC this season
Chicago Fire FC this season
Sporting Kansas City are 30th (21 pts). Chicago Fire FC are 5th (42 pts).
Goal Timing (This Season)
Sporting Kansas City
0-15
3/8
16-30
7/7
31-45
5/8
46-60
2/6
61-75
4/11
76+
4/9
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Chicago Fire FC
0-15
7/2
16-30
7/5
31-45
3/8
46-60
4/6
61-75
8/–
76+
3/9
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Top Scorers (This Season)
Chicago Fire FC
| Hugo Cuypers | 11 G | |
| Maren Haile-Selassie | 8 G | 3 A |
| Philip Zinckernagel | 5 G | 4 A |
Events
Match Events
- 0' Sporting Kansas City have kicked off against Chicago Fire FC. Both sides are eager to make an early statement.
- 1' The referee calls foul for Tim Melia. He receives a Yellow card.
- 6' Over 6 minutes have gone by without a meaningful attack. The supporters want more.
- 11' Sporting Kansas City started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 11.
- 16' Spectators are craving for more action. Both teams play very cautiously. They need to put some more energy.
- 19' The referee shows Chicago Fire FC player a Yellow card on 19.
- 21' Graham Zusi makes way for Jaylin Lindsey at the 21 minute mark. A tactical switch from Sporting Kansas City.
- 24' Roger Espinoza has been a danger all night but risks an early exit having now seen a Yellow card on 24.
- 29' Khiry Shelton has been one of the livelier players on the pitch with 0 goals to his name this season.
- 34' The teams are not in a rush to score plenty of goals. It might look strange considering Sporting Kansas City that had 290 games and scored 443 goals.
- 39' The referee has had an easy afternoon — neither side has been overly physical in the tackle.
- 44' Elliot Collier is putting in a real shift tonight. He has covered more ground than anyone else for Chicago Fire FC so far.
- 46' Another change for Sporting Kansas City made on 46 minute. Roger Espinoza leaves to be changed by Daniel Salloi.
- 51' Both keepers have barely been tested. Sporting Kansas City and Chicago Fire FC are cancelling each other out in the centre of the park.
- 56' It’s high time Peter Vermes made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
- 58' Poor challenge from Boris Sekulic. The referee spots it immediately and shows the Yellow card.
- 58' Time for substitution for Chicago Fire FC. Fabian Herbers is replaced by Przemyslaw Frankowski.
- 62' The referee has no hesitation. Winston Reid is booked for Sporting Kansas City — Yellow card on 62.
- 67' Winston Reid makes no mistake. The score reads 1-0 and Sporting Kansas City are in front.
- 69' Sporting Kansas City ring the changes. Gianluca Busio has done his job and it is now time for Felipe Hernandez to step up.
- 73' The Chicago Fire FC manager makes a substitution. Boris Sekulic departs to be replaced by C.J. Sapong.
- 77' Sporting Kansas City player sees a Yellow card in front of him.
- 79' Djordje Mihailovic makes way for Mike Azira at the 79 minute mark. A tactical switch from Chicago Fire FC.
- 80' That is a Yellow card for Sporting Kansas City. Khiry Shelton will be fuming at that decision.
- 85' Chicago Fire FC come into this ranked in Array. They desperately need points to push themselves up the standings.
- 87' Erik Hurtado is ready to make an impact after coming on for Johnny Russell at the 87 minute mark.
- The final score is 1-0.
Lineups
Sporting Kansas City Lineups
Starting XI
- 22
-
7
Johnny Russell C ↓ Erik Hurtado 87'
-
8
Graham Zusi ↓ Jaylin Lindsey 21'
- 29
- 6
- 27
-
15
Roger Espinoza ↓ Daniel Salloi 46'
- 11
- 4
- 17
- 13
Bench
- 3
- 12
-
20
Daniel Salloi ↑ 46'
-
26
Jaylin Lindsey ↑ 21'
- 16
-
21
Felipe Hernandez ↑ 69'
-
19
Erik Hurtado ↑ 87'
- 28
- 24
Coach
Peter Vermes
Chicago Fire FC Lineups
Starting XI
- 27
- 10
- 21
- 5
- 13
-
14
Djordje Mihailovic ↓ Mike Azira 79'
- 1
- 7
-
2
Boris Sekulic ↓ C.J. Sapong 73'
- 3
- 22
Bench
- 24
-
9
C.J. Sapong ↑ 73'
-
11
Przemyslaw Frankowski ↑ 58'
-
4
Johan Kappelhof ↑ 73'
-
16
Mike Azira ↑ 79'
- 20
-
28
Elliot Collier ↑ 79'
- 36
- 40
Coach
Raphaël Wicky
H2H
H2H Top Scorers
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Nemanja Nikolics | 2 |
| Kacper Przybylko | 2 |
| Johnny Russell | 2 |
| Philip Zinckernagel | 2 |
| Felipe Gutierrez | 2 |
| Hugo Cuypers | 2 |
| Nemanja Nikolics | 2 |
| Felipe Gutierrez | 2 |
Head to Head
Sporting Kansas City Form
2020-10-08
Sporting Kansas City
1–0
Chicago Fire FC
W
2020-10-04
Houston Dynamo
1–2
Sporting Kansas City
W
2020-09-23
Sporting Kansas City
1–2
Orlando City SC
L
2020-09-19
Sporting Kansas City
2–3
FC Dallas
L
2020-09-14
Sporting Kansas City
1–0
Minnesota United FC
W
2020-09-06
Houston Dynamo
2–1
Sporting Kansas City
L
Chicago Fire FC Form
2020-10-08
Sporting Kansas City
1–0
Chicago Fire FC
L
2020-10-03
Montreal Impact FC
2–2
Chicago Fire FC
D
2020-09-27
Chicago Fire FC
2–0
Atlanta United FC
W
2020-09-23
Chicago Fire FC
4–0
Houston Dynamo
W
2020-09-19
Orlando City SC
4–1
Chicago Fire FC
L
2020-09-12
Chicago Fire FC
2–2
Columbus Crew SC
D
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
2 / 4
1.54
Sporting Kansas City xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.81
Chicago Fire FC xG
I would bet for:
Sporting Kansas City or Chicago Fire FC 76% + Both teams to score 66%
Match Result
✓ CorrectActual: Sporting Kansas City win
Both Teams to Score
✗ Wrong
Avg goals/match: 3.35
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
Sporting Kansas City or Draw
64%
Draw or Chicago Fire FC
60%
Sporting Kansas City or Chicago Fire FC
76%
Half-Time Result
✓ CorrectActual: Draw at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
1 – 1
10.6%
1 – 2
8.5%
2 – 1
7.3%
2 – 2
6.5%
0 – 2
5.7%
0 – 1
5.7%
1 – 3
5.1%
0 – 0
5%
1 – 0
Actual
2 – 0
4.2%
2 – 3
4%
3 – 1
3.7%
Asian Handicap — Sporting Kansas City
| Handicap | Sporting Kansas City covers | Push | Chicago Fire FC covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 6% | — | 94% |
| -2 | 6% | 10% | 84% |
| -1.5 | 16% | — | 84% |
| -1 | 16% | 16% | 68% |
| -0.5 | 32% | — | 68% |
| +0.5 | 57% | — | 43% |
| +1 | 57% | 19% | 24% |
| +1.5 | 76% | — | 24% |
| +2 | 76% | 13% | 11% |
| +2.5 | 89% | — | 11% |
Clean Sheet
Sporting Kansas City keeps clean sheet
17%
✗
Chicago Fire FC keeps clean sheet
22%
✓
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.