It’s been two and a half months since New York City FC played a home game in the Big Apple. It was that match against the Columbus Crew that ended the winless streak in Major League Soccer. But after that the Boys in Blue played five matches away from home and there was a break for the World Cup. Thus, fans are looking forward to seeing their team again when they play against the Chicago Fire.
Both teams played in midweek, with New York FC winning and the MLS regular season beating the Columbus Crew. Chicago then played Inter Miami but lost in a thrilling battle by a score of 3–2. So the home team knows they are facing a team looking to get their first win after the break. In addition, the Fire have a new star, striker Robert Lewandowski. His performance already makes the team more dangerous.
Moreover, the visitors are already having a good season, as they have a record of 8-5-2. Rather, they are having one of the best seasons in recent years. But history is on NYCFC’s side: they last lost to the Fire in 2021. Since then, the Pigeons have won six times and shared points in three other meetings.
Although Chicago will be a threat and the Bronx team will once again be without several players, the hope is that this unbeaten streak will continue. Here’s a preview of the upcoming match between NYCFC and Fire.
Preview of the match “New York FC” – “Chicago Fire”
Date
NYCFC and Chicago will play on Saturday, July 25th.
Time
The match will start at 19:30.
Location
The game will take place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.
How to watch
Supporters can watch the meeting on Apple TV.
Weather
Saturday will be a beautiful summer day. At the start of the match the temperature will be around 77 degrees with humidity around 43%. It will be sunny before sunset and clear at night. A light breeze will keep things cool, and fortunately the team is not threatened by the poor air quality that has been experienced throughout the past week.
Trauma report
There are no changes to the injury report. Drew Bayera (leg), Raul Gustavo (leg), Mac Learned (leg), Alonso Martinez (leg), Maxi Morales (leg), Aiden O’Neal (leg), Kevin O’Toole (leg), Keaton Parks (leg) and Kai Trewin (leg) are out against Chicago.
Players to watch
NYCFC fans should watch Pascal Jansen. The head coach is struggling with a lack of players, but in the end he fielded the right lineup in Columbus. Will he continue to play with the same lineup? He also made the right choice of subs, so it will be interesting to see if he can lead his team with the right tactics and make decisions that lead to another three points.
Fans should also keep an eye on Lewandowski. Again, the striker is still one of the best in the world despite being left out of the squad in his final season at Barcelona. He scored just 19 goals in all competitions, but also played fewer times compared to the previous season. Then he scored 42 goals. So, once he adjusts to MLS, fans can expect him to score a lot. Hopefully he won’t get his first try against the Pigeons.
Forecast
After the Columbus game, it makes sense to be positive. Of course, the Fire are better than they have been in the past few years. The Pigeons also did not have the home advantage they had become accustomed to over the past few seasons. However, there is hope that they can pull out a win and that is why the prediction is for New York FC to win 2-0.
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