Six days after drawing Inter Miami in the team’s first clean-sheet of the season, the Fire are back at Soldier Field as they prepare to host FC Cincinnati, a Midwest rival that has ambitions of being one of the top league’s top teams this season.

In their final home game in April, the Fire are in the curious position: While a result – win or draw – would send the team into the fourth month of the MLS season undefeated at home, the Fire head into the match still looking for their first win in front of a home crowd of the season.

The last time the Fire had not won in front of home fans by April 19th was in the 2021 season, but in that COVID-affected schedule, the season didn’t kick off until April 17th. The first home victory of the year came on May 22nd – a 1-0 decision over Inter Miami – but it was just their sixth match of the season. The last time the Fire made it through nine match days without a win at home was the 2014 season.

That Frank Yallop-coached squad bears little resemblance to the one that will take to the pitch against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has the team playing better soccer with a more coherent tactical identity than the 2014 edition that landed 15th in the 19 team league – and better soccer than the team has played almost every year since – yet despite the strong play, including at home, the team has yet to reward the home crowd with a victory.

Defender Carlos Terán called the situation “difficult for the fans and for us,” saying “we need to win because it’s our home. It’s our fans. We’re working for that,” and although “you want to win every game … especially in our home, we need to be more strong. This Saturday, we need to do our best for the fans because they try to go to the games, they leave other teams to go to Soldier Field and help the team with their support.”

For the fans coming as members of the Red Line and Black Fires supporters groups, a win would give them a victory in what they term the RIPeters Memorial Derby, although any result would allow the Fire supporter to keep the trophy – a bike wheel, following the Fire’s victory in the previous match.

Series History

All time: 4W-4D-5LLast match: July 17, 2024: Cincinnati  0-1 Chicago at TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Oh..Last home match: March 2nd, 2024: Chicago 1-2 Cincinnati at Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.

What to Expect

FC Cincinnati

Since becoming head coach of FC Cincinnati after working as an assistant with the Philadelphia Union, Pat Noonan the style of play has evolved. Initially, the team played much like the Union: counter-attacking, high-pressing soccer. Play the ball fast and catch opposing teams in transition. Since then, that part of the identity has softened. While not playing anything close to the ball-dominant system used up I-71 by their intrastate rivals, the team is now more than happy to use the ball to break down opposition defenses, while remaining competent in transition.

What hasn’t changed, however, is the intense, physical nature of play that Noonan brought with him from Philadelphia. And – well, I’m not going to say it better than Berhalter, who said “they’ve been one of the better teams in Major League Soccer from a performance standpoint. You know, very robust center-backs. Very physical team. I think they added an element of high pressure, man versus man at times, that becomes very difficult.”

In the midfield, they will close space rapidly, making life difficult, and when opponents do get in behind, those center-backs that Berhalter mentioned? It may be the best group in the league, anchored by Miles Robinson and Matt Miazga, two U.S. Men’s National Team players that Berhalter knows well. Miazga missed almost the entirety of the 2024 season with an injury, and played his first minutes back last week. Noonan has typically been conservative with bringing players back from injury, so expect Miazga to once again be on limited minutes.

Cincinnati also have high-end attacking talent in Brazilian midfielder Evander and Belgian striker Kévin Denkey, who won the Golden Boot in Belgium the year after the Fire’s Hugo Cuypers won it. Evander has missed time with injury, but he has been training this week and Berhalter says his squad “expect[s] to play” on Saturday. Still – given Noonan’s cautious reintegration of players, expect his minutes to come more in the form of the ones we saw for Miazga last week – closer to a 10 to 15 minute cameo than a 45 minute half on the pitch.

Even with limited from two of their best players, however, FC Cincinnati will still be a tough, tenacious opponent and they won’t make it easy for the Fire to score their first goal at Soldier Field since Zinckernagel’s tally in the 40th minute against CF Montréal on March 29th.

We'd also be remiss if we didn't mention the passing of former FC Cincinnati player Aaron Boupendza who passed away in China, where he had been playing at 28-years-old. Despite clear struggles off it that ended up costing him his position at FC Cincinnati, Boupendza was a brilliant talent on the pitch and he scored a goal in last year's fixture in Chicago. FC Cincinnati released this statement via social media: ""We are saddened to hear of the tragic passing of former FC Cincinnati forward Aaron Boupendza earlier today at his home in China. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and teammates. He was a loved member of the FC Cincinnati family, and we offer our condolences to all who knew him. Rest in Peace, Aaron."

Chicago Fire

Despite not scoring a goal, there was a lot to like from the Fire’s performance against Inter Miami last week, headlined, of course, by the fact that the team’s first clean sheet of the year came despite playing against Lionel Messi for 90 minutes.

That was powered by strong play throughout the Fire’s lineup, including from Carlos Terán, who had arguably his best performance in a Fire jersey as he frustrated Messi and the rest of Miami’s attack. When asked about how he’d keep the “motivation” he showed playing against Messi through this contest, the Colombian center-back said that he and the rest of the team are “very intense,” and that the job was to play like that against every team.

“And about Messi,” Terán added, “it was a very interesting game because you have a lot of respect for him. He's the best player in the world, well, for some people he is. For other people, he isn't.” A week after the match and the center-back still isn’t willing to give Messi anything.

The strong play was due in no small part to the fact that the Fire stuck to the same basic blueprint they have all year – the tactics and root structure were the same – but, at the same time, adapted it. Compared to performances earlier in the season, they were willing to simplify the game, taking advantage of Miami’s high line – the average height of their defensive actions was almost at midfield – and play some long balls alongside building out through possession.

Combined with the improved defensive play, the improved tactical flexibility is a welcome sight to see for the Fire. It will help the team grind out results during this difficult stretch of schedule, coming despite the absence of Leonardo Barroso. The Portuguese U-22 Initiative signing had just started settling into the starting role at right-back before being injured. Although Justin Reynolds is adjusting to MLS, he hasn’t yet convinced in starting minutes when given the chance.

With Jonathan Dean injured last week, that left the team without an obvious option at the position, causing Omari Glasgow – Guyana’s all-time leading scorer and a chance creator for Fire II last year – to be deputized into the role. Although Dean “should be back” this week according to Berhalter, the coach did list Glasgow in as a fullback option.

That’s notable considering that when the team had previously pulled players out of position into fullback roles, he’d played it off as an emergency situation. Dean is the better – certainly more experienced – defensive player but his offensive upside is limited, while Glasgow was smart in determining when it was right to go forward into the attack, though his MLS experience is still limited. He wasn’t perfect, but he was good against all of Miami’s talent, as part of a team effort to keep the clean sheet.

The improved defensive play, however, has to be combined with what will be an offensive mini-slump if production doesn’t pick up against the defensively-strong FC Cincinnati. The team has been getting chances – and arguably deserved at least one, if not two more goals than they’ve had in the past two games – but you still want to see them going in.

Getting that to happen in front of a home crowd will just remove a monkey that’s starting to look ever-so-slightly attached to the team’s back.

Projected Starting XI

Panel Predictions

Alex Calabrese

Chicago Fire 1-1 FC Cincinnati

Tim Hotze

Chicago Fire 2-1 FC Cincinnati

Alan Królikowksi

Chicago Fire 1-0 FC Cincinnati

Memo Pizano

Chicago Fire 2-0 FC Cincinnati

Max Sánchez Josa

Chicago Fire 1-2 FC Cincinnati

Matt Shabelman

Chicago Fire 2-1 FC Cincinnati

Match Information and How to Watch

Date and Time: Saturday, April 19th 2025, 7:30 PM CTForecast: Temperatures in upper-40s with a 10% chance of precipitationLocation: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.  TV: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass