Matchday | Chicago Fire FC Seeks Fourth Consecutive League Victory at FC Cincinnati

Match Information

Chicago Fire FC (4-2-1, 13 points) at FC Cincinnati (2-4-1, 7 points)
Saturday, April 18, 2026
6:30 p.m. CT
TQL Stadium – Cincinnati

How to Watch: Apple TV
English: Steve Cangialosi & Danny Higginbotham
Spanish: Bruno Vain & Andres Agulla

How to Listen: WLSAM.com // TUDN Chicago 106.7 HD2 | Uforia by TREBEL App
English: Max Anderson & Joe Chatz
Spanish: Omar Ramos & Teresa Limón

Match Preview

Chicago looks to extend a four-game win streak across all competitions when the Fire travel to Ohio to face off against FC Cincinnati in a Walmart Saturday Showdown on April 18.

The Men in Red remain on the road following a victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 against Detroit City FC on Tuesday night. In his first start for the first team, forward Jason Shokalook struck twice in the matter of seconds to put the Fire up 2-0 in the first half. The hosts answered, but a Fire defense that had not allowed a goal in two regular season matches held on to advance to the Round of 16.

Cincinnati has a full week of rest to prepare for a Chicago side looking for its fourth straight win in MLS. The Orange and Blue hope a home match might help following a winless two-game road trip. After a 4-2 loss at Red Bull New York on April 4, Cincinnati went down one man and one goal to Toronto FC in the second half of their match the following week. In the eighth regular season appearance of his career, forward Kenji Mboma Dem scored his first goal with the Cincinnati first team, earning a much needed road point ahead of their meeting with the Fire.

All-Time MLS Regular Season Record vs. CIN: (4-7-3)

Last Match vs. CIN: April 19, 2025 (2-3 L) – Soldier Field – Chicago (Match Recap)
Last Match at CIN: July 5, 2025 (1-2 L) – TQL Stadium – Cincinnati (Match Recap)

Hyundai Keys to the Match:

• Mbotional Damage: Mbekezeli Mbokazi had his moment in the spotlight in Chicago’s 1-0 victory against Atlanta United FC on Saturday. But the South African has quickly turned his attention to Cincinnati, where he has a shot to get a third straight shutout for the Fire, their first since 2023, and possibly his first goal.

• Lod Bearing: Robin Lod has played every match this season in a variety of roles. The Finnish veteran has contributed on all ends of the field, scoring the latest goal in Fire history against Montréal, getting a game-winning assist in Philadelphia and spearheading a press that has helped the Fire allow only five goals this season.

• Beast of the East: The Men in Red have yet to drop a match to 2025 Eastern Conference playoff opponents this season, defeating Philadelphia on the road and getting shutouts against Nashville and Columbus. Now they look for three points against last year’s second-best team in the East.

Match Notes

• Chicago is second in the Eastern Conference with five goals allowed, one more than first-place Nashville. The strong defensive start to 2026 is tied for the third-best through the opening seveb games in Club history; the Fire has allowed five goals or fewer in the opening seven matches just four times since 1998.

• Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady will look for his 22nd career regular season clean sheet – good for third all-time among Fire goalkeepers – against FC Cincinnati. His next appearance will be his 100th of the regular season for Chicago, making him the 23rd player to reach the century mark in Club history.

• Six current Fire players have scored against FC Cincinnati, though only Andrew Gutman has tallied more than once against his old side. On the other end, Evander and Kévin Denkey have five of the eight goals scored by five current Orange and Blue players against Chicago, including the last man to have won MLS Player of the Matchday for the Fire: Tom Barlow.

Starting XI

Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI in search of a fourth consecutive league victory and fifth across all competitions:

• Two changes were made to the Starting XI that got a second straight shutout in the 1-0 home victory against Atlanta United FC last Saturday.

• Forward Hugo Cuypers returns to the lineup after missing the last two matches with a head injury. Cuypers will aim for goal number five in his fifth start of the season, tying the Fire record for most consecutive games with a goal set by David Accam and Robert Berić.

• On the other end of the field, defender Jonathan Dean returns to the Starting XI in a league match for the first time since March 14. But Dean has seen plenty of action since then, starting and playing all 90 minutes at right back in the Fire’s 2-1 road victory over Detroit City FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 on Tuesday night.

• Chris Brady will see a milestone moment tonight, becoming the 23rd player in Club history to reach 100 regular season appearances. Brady is the first Homegrown goalkeeper to reach the mark for Chicago, joining Mauricio Pineda and Brian Gutiérrez as the third Homegrown player overall to make at least 100 starts for their hometown team.

• In front of Brady and across the field from Dean will be left back Andrew Gutman. The veteran Academy graduate will make his 155th appearance against his first side in Major League Soccer, just 55 minutes short of the 12,000 minute mark in regular season play.

• Manning the backline will be the duo of captain Jack Elliott and Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who line up together for the sixth consecutive match. In that span, the duo has only allowed three goals, helping Brady record all four of his shutouts this season.

• Another strong duo starts in the center of the pitch, as Anton Salétros and Dje D’Avilla appear in their eighth match of the year, making their sixth start together this season in league play.

• The wings will be occupied by Philip Zinckernagel on the right and Maren Haile-Selassie on the left. Zinckernagel has scored or assisted in three consecutive matches across league and U.S. Open Cup play, most recently setting up Jason Shokalook’s goal in the win against Detroit on Tuesday. Haile-Selassie arrives in Cincinnati looking for a second straight league game with a goal after tallying the game-winner Saturday against Atlanta.

• Rounding out the attack is Robin Lod, who will work between the wings and Cuypers looking for goal number two of the year. The Finnish veteran has only faced Cincinnati three times in the regular season as a member of Western Conference side Minnesota United, but hopes his fourth match against the Orange and Blue brings a goal contribution.

• Available off the bench for coach Berhalter are goalkeeper Josh Cohen; defenders Viktor Radojević, Joel Waterman and Dylan Borso; midfielders Mauricio Pineda, David Poreba and Sergio Oregel Jr.; winger Puso Dithejane; and forward Jason Shokalook.

• Defender Leonardo Barroso (Lower Body) and wingers Chris Mueller (Not Due to Injury) and Jonathan Bamba (Not Due to Injury) will be unavailable for selection for tonight’s match. Midfielder André Franco (Lower Body) remains on the league Injured List and will be unavailable for multiple weeks.

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