MLS: Match Preview - DC United vs. Chicago Fire
- Philip Farrell
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
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Match: D.C. United v Chicago Fire FC
Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2026. 19:30 (Eastern)
Venue: Audi Field, Washington, DC.
Capacity: 20,000
How to watch: Apple+
Tickets: www.dcunited.com/tickets
WASHINGTON, DC --- D.C. United will be looking to do the double over Chicago Fire when the latter visits Audi Field on Wednesday evening.
D.C. United (P:12 W:4 D:4 L:4 GF:15 GA:17 GD:-2 PTS:16) sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, only a place and a point below their visitors who have a game in-hand. Head Coach René Weiler’s team most recently earned a 2-2 draw away to Nashville but will be disappointed with the result, having been two goals up with 15 minutes left to play. Israeli forward Tal Baribo is their top scorer this season with six goals.
Chicago, meanwhile, (P:11 W:5 D:2 L:4 GF:7 GA:20 GD:+6 PTS:17) lost 3-1 at home to the New York Red Bulls in their most recent outing. This was their third straight defeat (including Cup games) after having enjoyed a four-game unbeaten run. Belgian forward Hugo Cuypers is MLS’s current top-goalscorer with 11 goals on the season.
The match kicks off at 7.30pm Eastern and fans can expect rain with a 65 degree temperature come kick-off. Streaming will be available on Apple TV.
The History:
D.C. United - P:84 W:30 D:25 L:29 GF:119 GA:124 GD:-5
Chicago Fire - P:84 W:29 D:25 L:30 GF:124 GA:119 GD:+5
D.C. and Chicago have a remarkably even record since their first meeting back in 1998. Each has won just over a third of the games, with 25 draws. The goal difference is incredibly even too with just a five goal swing either way.
Jaime Moreno is the fixture’s top scorer with 10 goals against Chicago Fire over his two stints with D.C (1996-02, 2004-10). Canada MNT Head Coach Jesse Marsch is Chicago’s top scorer against D.C. United with seven goals. Meanwhile, forward Chris Rolfe scored seven goals in this fixture across stints with both clubs (Chicago Fire 2005-09, D.C. United 2014-17).
These sides have already met in 2026. On Matchday 4 (15 March) D.C. United won 2-1 at Soldier Field in an insane comeback that saw three goals in the final ten minutes. After a Jackson Hopkins handball gifted the Fire a penalty, Hugo Cuypers thought he had won it with an 81st minute conversion. However, Matti Peltola (84th minute) and a Tai Baribo penalty (90th minute) nabbed an unlikely win and three points for United. “It will be impossible to compare those games,” said Weiler. “It’s a new game and we’ll prepare for it how we have always prepared, trying to get a good result at home.”
Report Cards:
D.C. United - D.C. looked primed to win at Nashville after taking a 2-0 lead through first-half strikes from Louis Munteanu and captain Lucas Bartlett. But, a Silvan Hefti red card opened the door for Nashville to level the game as late as the 89th minute. Club-record signing ($7m) and Romanian international Munteanu scored four goals in his first three MLS starts.
Despite conceding late, the Black-and-Red extended their unbeaten streak to five matches. After the game Weiler said “it was a very good point away, but when you lead 2-0, only 15 minutes before the end, then you want to win the game. In the end, it was tough with one man less. We will take this point and I’m very happy with the performance.”
Lineup Prediction (4-4-2): Sean Johnson; Keisuke Kurokawa, Kye Rowles, Lucas Bartlett, Aaron Herrera; João Peglow, Brandon Servania, Matti Peltola, Jared Stroud; Louis Munteanu, Tal Baribo
After his red card at Nashville, Sivan Hefti at right-back is suspended for Wednesday. I’m not sure how they’ll replace him, either with a different player or formation. Japanese defender Keisuke Kurokawa recorded one assist and three interceptions in 90 minutes played. Alongside him at the back, captain Bartlett won three total duels in 90 minutes played. His goal in Tennessee marked Bartlett’s first of the season and the third of his MLS career. Further up-field Brazilian midfielder João Peglow recorded seven recoveries and had seven defensive contributions in 90 minutes played against Nashville. Peglow has assisted on three league goals in 2026, the most of any player in the side. He, Kurokawa, Bartlett, Hefti, Sean Johnson, and Matti Peltola have started all 12 games for D.C. in the league. Kurokawa and Johnson have played every minute (1,080) thus far.
Should he play, striker Tal Baribo is D.C.’s player to watch. He leads the side with six goals this season, and has scored those goals from an expected goals (xG) total of 4.96. He has scored with 33.33% of his shots in MLS this term (6/18), and from 75% of his shots on target (6/8).
Chicago Fire - Chicago have now gone back-to-back games conceding three goals. This is alarming, considering they’d previously allowed just five goals in their first seven matches of the season. Last weekend they suffered a bitterly disappointing 3-1 loss at Soldier Field to the Red Bulls. Hugo Cuypers goal, scored in the 88th minute, came when they were already 3-0 down and on the way to a third straight loss. Gregg Berhalter's side are now seven points adrift of Nashville, who top the East, with the New England Revs and Inter Miami both five points above Chicago.
Lineup Prediction: Chris Brady; Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott (C), Joel Waterman, Jonathan Dean; Anton Salétros, Djé D'Avilla; Jonathan Bamba, Maren Haile-Selassie, Philip Zinckernagel; Hugo Cuypers
Maren Haile-Selassie made his 100th regular season appearance for Chicago in the loss to New York, becoming the 24th player to reach the century mark in Club history, and made his 57th start with Chicago. Philip Zinckernagel is the team’s top assist. The Dane has provided four assists. He’s their second-top-scorer with four also, contributing a total of eight goal contributions.
Goalkeeper Chris Brady has played more league minutes (990) than anyone else in 2026 and is one of three players alongside Zinckernagel and Anton Salétros to have started all 11 games. In terms of availability, midfielder André Franco (Lower Body) remains on the league Injured List and will be unavailable through the World Cup break.
While the result against New York was tough to swallow, one bright note was the goal by Cuypers. With it, he extended a club-record scoring streak to eight straight games with a goal. He also became the first player in MLS history to score in each of his first eight appearances in a regular season and the strike also put him in the lead of the MLS Golden Boot race, one ahead of Dallas’ Petar Musa. Without a doubt the Chicago player to watch on Wednesday.
Analysis and Predictions:
This is a tough one. I think Chicago are a better side than D.C. on paper but their form is awful. Having said that, as long as Cuypers can keep scoring they have every opportunity to grab a win and they have gone unbeaten in their last three away games, not losing on the road (in MLS) since late-February. I’m going for a Fire win, but this one could go either way. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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