• Matchday 28: Chicago Fire FC vs New York City FC
• Date and Kickoff Time: Saturday, October 10, 2:40 pm ET
• Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
• Forecast: A sunny and warm autumn afternoon, 75F/24C
• Watch: Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Evan Weston and Sacha Kljestan (English); Alejandro Figueredo and Tony Cherchi (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matt Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Brandon Stevis (referee), Ian McKay and Jeff Swartzel (assistant referees), Rubiel Vazquez (fourth official), David Barrie (VAR), Kathryn Nesbitt (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will be in its navy All Nations Kit; Chicago in its aptly-named Forever Red kit, which is red
The lengthy international break is over and New York City FC is back in action in the Windy City, searching for a positive start to a critical seven-match stretch to close out the 2026 regular season.
New York City only has one win (1W-5D-4L) from its last 10 regular-season matches played, so the afternoon matinee at Soldier Field against Chicago Fire FC is a chance to reverse that form coming out of an extended period of rest and training.
This is also the start of a three-match week against a trio of teams (Inter Miami, LAFC after this one) with significantly more points than New York City FC, since Chicago is on 45 and in fourth place, while NYCFC has 33 points and is just barely hanging on to one of the final spots in the MLS Cup Playoffs as this matchday kicks off.
This could be one of the last trips made to Soldier Field by NYCFC, since Chicago will open its new soccer-specific stadium, McDonald's Park, sometime in 2028. Enjoy the faded American football lines and painted end zones while you still can. The Fire played at Soldier Field just a few days ago on Tuesday, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 while the FIFA international window was still ongoing.
New York City will be glad to welcome back its key contributors who were away during the international break. That call-ups, specifically Matt Freese, Aiden O'Neill, and Tayvon Gray, hardly played any minutes for their national teams, and they were each badly missed while NYCFC struggled to a 2-2 draw in Atlanta in the club's last match prior to a two-week pause in play.
Andrew Leigh
New York City FC H2H Record vs Chicago
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 43 | 25 | 18 |
New York City has absolutely dominated this fixture, going unbeaten against the Fire across their last 10 head-to-head meetings.
The last time the Fire beat NYCFC, it was 2021 and it was at Soldier Field, a 2-0 Chicago victory late in a season that ended with an MLS Cup for New York City FC. Since that September 29, 2021 match, New York City is unbeaten in four trips to Soldier Field, with two wins and two draws, and with one of those wins coming last September, NYCFC's last away day in Chicago.
