Major League Soccer,
Round 24
Chicago Fire
CHI
Inter Miami
-
Venue
- Soldier Field
Preview for Chicago Fire v Inter Miami
Lionel Messi headlines a star-studded cast as Inter Miami take on the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field on Wednesday night.
Messi was yesterday included in the list of 30 contenders to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or in recognition of his outstanding year with Miami and Argentina.
The 39-year-old was the key contributor as the Florida club claimed their maiden MLS Cup crown in December – he won the Golden Boot with 29 goals and 48 total goal contributions as well as the MVP award – and he followed that up with a series of stellar displays as Argentina reached the final of the World Cup before losing to Spain.
It is not just Messi that fans can get excited about, though, and there is a definite Barcelona flavour to the game.
Messi will, of course, have Miami team-mate Luis Suarez by his side and they will come up against another former Blaugrana hero in Chicago striker Robert Lewandowski.
The Pole has made an excellent start to his career Stateside with five goals and two assists in his first eight MLS appearances.
Neither side is in great form with Chicago having defensive issues after drawing their previous three MLS games, including a 4-4 thriller with Toronto FC last time out.
“The feeling in the locker room was disappointment, and I think that’s a good thing, because we expected to win and we didn’t do it,” boss Gregg Berhalter said about their draw with the Canadians.
“So what we talked about was the focus at the end of the game. We got ourselves back into it, we took the lead, and it was really about how do we prevent that one attack that they had at the end? And we didn’t do it well, and they ended up getting the tie.
“For us, we’ve got to be better at defending, we’ve got to be more compact. Offensively, we’re creating enough. We’re doing enough to score goals.”
Berhalter is excited, though, at the match-up with Messi’s Miami.
He added in remarks reported by the Miami Herald: “This is the aim of Major League Soccer, to play games like this in front of sold-out stadiums with marquee players. We always talk about Major League Soccer being a league choice for top players, and this game is an example of this. You can see a lot of top players featured in this game.”
Miami, who will again be led by Guillermo Hoyos while new boss Kily Gonzalez awaits his work visa, have won just one of their last five in MLS.
The Major League Soccer Table
Major League Soccer 2026
USA
Eastern Conference
| # | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Nashville SC |
23 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 47 | 17 | 30 | 53 |
D
W
W
W
W
|
| 2 |
Inter Miami |
23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 58 | 43 | 15 | 43 |
W
L
D
L
D
|
| 3 |
Chicago Fire |
22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 43 | 32 | 11 | 38 |
D
D
D
W
W
|
| 4 |
New England Revolution |
23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 37 | 29 | 8 | 37 |
L
W
D
W
L
|
| 5 |
Charlotte |
23 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 40 | 32 | 8 | 36 |
D
W
W
D
W
|
| 6 |
FC Cincinnati |
22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 49 | 51 | -2 | 31 |
L
D
W
D
W
|
| 7 |
New York City FC |
23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 36 | 31 | 5 | 29 |
D
D
D
L
L
|
| 8 |
Orlando City SC |
23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 38 | 54 | -16 | 28 |
W
D
W
L
D
|
| 9 |
Philadelphia Union |
23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 36 | 39 | -3 | 27 |
W
W
D
D
W
|
| 10 |
New York Red Bulls |
23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 32 | 46 | -14 | 27 |
D
L
D
L
L
|
| 11 |
Toronto FC |
23 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 36 | 42 | -6 | 26 |
D
D
W
D
W
|
| 12 |
DC United |
22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 28 | 36 | -8 | 25 |
D
L
L
D
D
|
| 13 |
Columbus Crew |
23 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 34 | 39 | -5 | 23 |
W
L
L
L
L
|
| 14 |
Atlanta United FC |
23 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 27 | 40 | -13 | 22 |
L
W
W
W
L
|
| 15 |
CF Montreal |
23 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 30 | 48 | -18 | 21 |
L
L
D
W
D
|
- Position 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 : Promotion – MLS (Play Offs: 1/8-finals)
- Position 8, 9 : Promotion – MLS (Play Offs: 1/16-finals)
Team News for Chicago Fire v Inter Miami
Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Andre Franco are out for the Fire.
Defenders Micael and Gonzalo Lujan are doubtful for Miami and Mateo Silvetti is sidelined after reinjuring his shoulder against Atlanta. Sergio Reguilon has a hamstring strain and could miss out.
Expected line-ups for Chicago Fire v Inter Miami
Chicago Fire: Brady; Dean, Rogers, Elliott, Gutman; Saletros, D’Aville, Haile-Selassie; Zinckernagel, Lewandowski, Dithejane
Inter Miami: St Clair; Fray, Casemiro, Falcon, Caicedo; De Paul, Bright, Segovia; Messi, Suarez, Taylor
Stats for Chicago Fire v Inter Miami
- Inter Miami are aiming to become the first MLS Cup champion to defend its title since the 2011-12 Los Angeles Galaxy
- Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski have scored almost 1,700 career goals between them for clubs and country
- Inter Miami won their last meeting 3-2 in July
- No MLS team has scored more goals this season than Miami’s 58
- Chicago can claim an eighth regular-season home triumph on Wednesday, the most for this club in a single MLS campaign since 2019
Where to Watch Chicago Fire v Inter Miami: TV and online streams
Kick-off is at 7.30pm CT on Wednesday, which is 1.30am BST in the early hours of Thursday morning for those watching in the UK.
The match is available live on Apple TV via the MLS Season Pass.
Prediction for Chicago Fire v Inter Miami
There should be goals with two of MLS’s most attacking teams squaring off. We think the spoils may be shared which wouldn’t be a bad result for either side.
Also expect Messi and Lewandowski to be prominent.
Match Prediction
Chicago Fire
Inter Miami
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