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• Matchday 17: New York City FC vs Chicago Fire FC
• Date and Kickoff Time: Saturday, July 25, 7:40 pm ET
• Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
• Forecast: A clear and comfortable night, 76F/24C
• Watch: Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Nate Bukaty and Devon Kerr (English), Alejandro Figueredo and Tony Cherchi (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Ricardo Montero Araya (referee), Matthew Nelson and Walt Heatherly (assistant referees), Marcos DeOliveira (fourth official), Kevin Terry Jr (VAR), TJ Zablocki (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the navy All Nations Kit; Chicago will be in its all-red kit, Forever Red
New York City FC opens the second half of its home slate by hosting the third-place team in the MLS Eastern Conference, Chicago Fire FC, at Yankee Stadium. Today marks the exact midpoint of the 34-game MLS regular season, with NYCFC's 22 points from 16 matches good for sixth place, but four points behind their Windy City foes at Yankee Stadium.
This will be New York City's ninth home match of the season and they've been somewhat uncharacteristically poor at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field to date, only picking up three wins, though one of those three was last time out in the Bronx, a 3-0 victory over Columbus on Sunday, May 10.
New York City is expected to get a first look at the Fire's big new summer signing, 37-year-old striker Robert Lewandowski, who debuted during Chicago's midweek 3-2 loss at a Messi-less Inter Miami CF. They definitely won't be facing Hugo Cuypers, who leads the MLS Golden Boot race but who won't ever add to his 13 goals this season, since he now plays for CF Monterrey in Mexico after he was sold a few weeks following Lewandowski’s arrival.
New York City FC has a new striker, too, and the team just won in Columbus in its return to MLS play, a match that saw Bénie Traoré make his debut, quietly. Traorés forgettable debut didn't matter, as players like Agustín Ojeda, Talles Magno, and especially Nicolás Fernández Mercau showcased the team's variety of possible attacking weapons while winning away in Columbus for the first time since 2017.
Matthew Mangam
New York City FC vs Chicago Head-to-Head
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 40 | 24 | 16 |
