Match Information
Chicago Fire FC (1-1-0, 3 points) at Columbus Crew (0-1-1, 1 point)
Saturday, March 7, 2026
6:30 p.m. CT
ScottsMiracle-Gro Field – Columbus, Ohio
How to Watch: Apple TV
English: Steve Cangialosi & Danny Higginbotham
Spanish: Bruno Vain & Andres Agulla
How to Listen: WLS-AM 890 // Que Buena Fire on Uforia App by Trebel
English: Max Anderson & Joe Chatz
Spanish: Omar Ramos & Teresa Limón
Match Preview
Chicago Fire FC will travel to the Buckeye State to face the Columbus Crew in the 80th edition of the Fire’s longest running rivalry.
The Fire will arrive in Columbus fresh off a 3-0 victory against CF Montréal in the 2026 home opener at Soldier Field. In his first appearance of the season, winger Jonathan Bamba scored the first goal of the match and the game-winner, following goalkeeper Chris Brady’s shutout performance. Forward Hugo Cuypers tallied his second in as many matches, while midfielder Robin Lod wrapped up the day with his first goal with Chicago. It marked the first home opener victory in front of fans since 2017 and the 12th home opener at Soldier Field, in which the Men in Red have compiled a record of 6-2-4.
The Crew will open the home portion of their schedule Saturday night looking for their first victory of the season. Columbus opened the season with a loss in Portland on Feb. 21, then visited Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, Feb. 28. Designated Player Wessam Abou Ali opened the scoring for the visitors, before Dejan Joveljić tallied a brace to pull Kansas City ahead. But Diego Rossi – also a Designated Player – scored his second goal in as many matches to salvage a point for Columbus.
All-Time MLS Regular Season Record vs. CLB: (28-28-23)
Last Game vs. CLB: Sept. 27, 2025 (2-0 W) – Soldier Field – Chicago (Match Recap)
Last Game at CLB: Feb. 22, 2025 (2-4 L) – Lower.com Field – Columbus, Ohio (Match Recap)
Hyundai Keys to the Match:
- Bamba Bounces Back: Winger Jonathan Bamba missed the first MLS match of his career in the Fire’s season opener at Houston. But he came back last Saturday with a bang, scoring against Montréal. Next up is a trip to Columbus, where he recorded two assists in his MLS debut last year.
- Brady's Bunch: Goalkeeper Chris Brady could start his 95th MLS regular season match in Columbus coming off a shutout against Montréal. The Crew have a strong cast of players on the attack, but Brady is confident in a defense that allowed only four shots and 0.1 xG last weekend.
- Breaking the Dam: Chicago finished 2025 with the second-most set piece goals in the league and nearly got a couple on Saturday miraculously saved at the line. Could the set piece floodgates finally open in Columbus?
Match Notes
- Saturday’s match will mark the 80th all-time encounter between both sides in MLS play, making the Crew the Fire’s most common opponent. The sides are tied with a 28-28-23 record in head-to-head league matchups.
- Chicago won the last matchup against Columbus 2-0 on Sept. 27, 2025 at Soldier Field. In that match, goalkeeper Chris Brady set a career-high in wins in a single season with his 11th win of 2025. He also posted the 17th clean sheet of his career, doing so in back-to-back fashion for the second time that year; he will look to post back-to-back shutouts in this edition.
- With a start against Columbus, Chris Brady will be only five away from the century mark in regular season starts. Currently third among all Fire goalkeepers in both starts and appearances, he would become only the third player in Club history to feature in 100 matches, behind Ring of Fire member Zach Thornton (215) and Sean Johnson (176).
- Chris Mueller could also appear in the 175th regular season match of his career with minutes against Columbus on Saturday. He has scored three times in 11 matches (9 starts) against the Crew all-time.
- Defender Jack Elliott leads all current Fire players with 1,710 minutes played against Columbus, while Chris Mueller leads the Club with three goals against the Ohio side.
Lineups
Chicago Fire FC Director of Football and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter has named the following Starting XI in his return to his old haunts:
- Two changes have been made to the lineup that earned the first clean sheet of the season in the Fire’s home opener against Montréal.
- Joel Waterman returns to the starting lineup for the first time since the season opening match against Houston on Feb. 21. The Canadian international will reunite with Mbekezeli Mbokazi on the backline – who starts his third consecutive match – alongside Fire captain Jack Elliott, who has played all 90 minutes in each of his prior 19 matches against the Crew,
- Chris Mueller will lead the Fire attack in his first start for his hometown club since Oct. 19, 2024. The Schaumburg native will feature in his 175th regular season match in place of Hugo Cuypers, who is unavailable for selection with a lower body injury.
- The versatile Maren Haile-Selassie will flip from the right to left to start his third match in a row. His play with Leonardo Barroso on the right led to the Fire’s opening tally against Montréal last week; the two will carry more defensive responsibilities as wingbacks against Columbus tonight.
- Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady draws the 95th regular season start of his Major League Soccer career looking for clean sheet number 18. Brady will look for back-to-back shutouts for the first time since the last meeting against the Crew at Soldier Field on Sept. 27, 2025, which followed a 3-0 road win at Minnesota United FC a week prior.
- Another Homegrown player, Mauricio Pineda, will patrol the middle of the park alongside Anton Salétros in their second consecutive start together. The two combined to break up nascent Montréal attacks in the Fire’s home opener, limiting the visitors to only four shots all afternoon. The Swedish midfielder took over the team lead in corner kicks taken, nearly cashing in on multiple occasions.
- Last year’s leading corner kick taker, Philip Zinckernagel, will start shuttling between the midfield duo of Pineda and Salétros and Mueller up top. Zinckernagel has yet to score in the first two games, but has continued to unsettle defenses while playing more centrally for Chicago.
- Jonathan Bamba starts his second straight match after opening his 2026 season with a goal against Montréal last Saturday. He returns to the site of his MLS debut in the 2025 season opener, when he became only the second Fire player to record two assists in his first appearance for the Club.
- Available off the bench for Berhalter will be goalkeeper Josh Cohen; defenders Viktor Radojević and Christopher Cupps; midfielders Robin Lod, Dylan Borso, Sergio Oregel Jr. and Dje D’Avilla; winger Puso Dithejane; and forward Jason Shokalook.
- Beside Cuypers, defenders Andrew Gutman (Lower Body) and Jonathan Dean (Suspension) will not be available for selection against Columbus. Defender Sam Rogers (Lower Body) and midfielder André Franco (Lower Body) were placed on the league Injured List and will be unavailable for multiple weeks.
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