Chicago Fire FC Weekly Update
MLS Chicago Fire FC

Chicago Fire FC Weekly Update

Published on April 27, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


CHICAGO FIRE FC FACES ST. LOUIS CITY SC IN LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP ROUND OF 16 BEFORE HOSTING REMATCH WITH FC CINCINNATI AT SOLDIER FIELD

Chicago Fire FC will take a six-game unbeaten streak into SeatGeek Stadium for a Round of 16 matchup against St. Louis CITY SC in the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, April 29. The Fire will then face FC Cincinnati in league play for the second time in two weeks, this time at Soldier Field on Saturday, May 2.

The Men in Red come into a busy week in hot form, with a 5-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City the latest in a six-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. After a quiet first half on Saturday night, winger Philip Zinckernagel opened the scoring with two goals against Sporting, before setting up the first of Hugo Cuypers' two goals for the night. The connection helped Cuypers become the first player in Fire history to score in six straight games in which he appeared in, a mark that he hopes to extend into the Open Cup after missing the Fire's 2-1 victory at Detroit City FC in the Round of 32.

St. Louis CITY SC will face the Fire for the second time in the history of the iconic competition after a 4-0 Round of 32 win against FC Tulsa on April 15. Four different goal scorers tallied in the match held in Energizer Park. But CITY SC followed the victory with two losses against Western Conference opponents in regular season play, including a tough 3-2 home loss against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. They now hope to avenge their only meeting with the Fire in the U.S. Open Cup, a 2-1 loss on May 9, 2023, also at SeatGeek Stadium.

FC Cincinnati arrives in similarly hot form, unbeaten in four straight MLS matches. In their last match, the Orange and Blue hosted Red Bull New York at TQL Stadium. Forward Kévin Denkey tallied twice in the first half and goalkeeper Roman Celentano recorded six saves in a 2-0 shutout of the Eastern Conference rivals. Cincinnati will enjoy a full week to prepare for Chicago just two weeks after a 3-3 draw at TQL Stadium that was marked by Cuypers' first brace of the season.

Kickoff at SeatGeek Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, April 29, with the match airing on Paramount+. The Men in Red will then host FC Cincinnati at Soldier Field on Saturday, May 2. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be broadcast globally on Apple TV and transmitted locally on WLS 890 AM and the Uforia by TREBEL app.

Game Information

Chicago Fire FC (3rd, MLS Eastern) vs. St. Louis CITY SC (14th, MLS Western)

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

SeatGeek Stadium - Bridgeview, Ill.

All-Time U.S. Open Cup Record vs. STL: (2-0-0)

Last U.S. Open Cup Match vs. STL: May 9, 2023 (2-1 W) - SeatGeek Stadium - Bridgeview, Ill. (Match Recap)

Chicago Fire FC (5-2-2, 17 points) vs. FC Cincinnati (3-4-3, 12 points)

Saturday, May 2, 2026

Soldier Field - Chicago

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

Last Match vs. CIN: April 19, 2025 (2-3 L) - Soldier Field - Chicago (Match Recap)

Last Match at CIN: April 18, 2026 (3-3 D) - TQL Stadium - Cincinnati (Match Recap)

MAtch Notes

The Fire will look for win number 49 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a record among MLS teams. They will look for win number two against St. Louis CITY SC but the third against St. Louis-based teams - they previously split two matches against now-defunct St. Louis FC in 2017 and 2019. A victory would mark the Fire's 53rd time advancing to the next round, also a record since the addition of MLS teams to the tournament.

Forward Jason Shokalook leads the Fire with two goals in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup. The 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot has one previous goal in the U.S. Open Cup, tallying in the 90th minute of a 2-0 win against Forward Madison FC for Chicago Fire FC II in the Second Round of the 2024 edition.

Chicago Fire FC enters Matchday 11 with the third best Expected Goals (xG) mark in the league. Per MLS, the metric quantitatively measures chance quality and works as a more consistent measure of performance than goals alone. The Fire have 20.42 xG in league play, just ahead of Cincinnati's 19.72 and behind two of the most dynamic attacks in the league in San Jose (27.64) and Vancouver (26.47).

Goalkeeper Chris Brady and the Fire defense have recorded five shutouts in their first nine matches of the season, the best such mark since doing the same in 2022. In that season, Gabriel "Gaga" Slonina recorded a Fire-best 12 clean sheets to finish the year; Brady can reach the halfway point of that record in only the 10th match of the season with a clean sheet against Cincinnati.

Along with setting the Fire record for most consecutive games with a goal (6) Saturday against Kansas City, forward Hugo Cuypers also moved up to fourth all-time for most goals in Club history. The Belgian striker has scored 35 goals in 70 regular season matches with Chicago, two more than fifth-place David Accam. Next up for Cuypers is third-place Chris Rolfe, who scored 48 in 178 games with the Men in Red from 2005-2014.

Check out the Chicago Fire FC Statistics

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