It's the penultimate match before Major League Soccer's World Cup break for CF Montréal, as they host a Chicago Fire side that's been one of the better teams in the east in the 2026 campaign.

The Bleu-blanc-noir are now sitting with a 3W-1D-1L record under Philippe Eullaffroy, as the interim manager has brought the team to within two points of the final playoff spot in the conference.

Meanwhile, Chicago come in after breaking a three-match losing streak in all competitions with a three-goal second half against D.C. United on Wednesday.

Last time out

Saturday's encounter will be the second and final time these two teams meet in the 2026 regular season, with the first meeting coming back on matchday two.

It was somewhat of a disastrous performance for the Impact that day at Soldier Field, who were up a man for the majority of the second half, down 1-0 after a Jonathan Dean red card, and managed to concede two stoppage-time goals to lose 3-0.

That result was one of the six Montréal losses in the first seven weeks of the season, which led to the dismissal of Marco Donadel.

Chicago didn't take much momentum from that win, and actually started the season 1-1-3 in their first five matches. They found some good form after that, and had a very successful April before slipping a big as the calendar flipped to May.

How Montréal enter the match

A 2-2 draw against Portland on Wednesday ended a three-game home win streak for the Impact, though the performance wasn't too bad, particularly with a somewhat rotated squad.

The team has been pretty standard under Eullaffroy, and has really settled into a few key ideas and shapes. They play a standard 4-3-3 formation with Matty Longstaff and Victor Loturi operating as box-to-box players with Samuel Piette anchoring them as a classic destroyer, though occasionally Piette has been given a start off with Loturi dropping back.

Their wingers are quick and dynamic, and they now have a pair of big centre forwards in pretty decent goal-scoring form in Daniel Ríos and Prince Owusu.

The interim boss has stressed a more zonal marking system that has played a relatively deep back line and has not looked to hold possession. They're hard to break down and hit quickly in transition.

This stability has been great for the team, who have played good football in recent weeks. Two more good results could see them sneak into a playoff spot before MLS takes its seven-week summer break, which would be a fantastic development, considering how bleak things looked at the end of the Donadel era.

How Chicago Fire enter the match

The Fire have had a solid 2026 campaign to date, though their jump in the standings from eighth in the east last year to the fourth spot they currently hold has a bit more to do with the quality of the teams around them than the team itself.

After putting up 53 points in 2025 to finally get back into the postseason, they're now on pace for 57. A small step up, but mostly lateral.

Their underlying numbers have taken a bit of a step up as well, from a plus-5.90 expected goal difference in 2025 to plus-8.60 in 2026.

Overall, this is a team with a very strong back line, bolstered by MLS veteran Jack Elliott and young South Africa international Mbekezeli Mbokazi. Their attack is also strong, with DP striker Hugo Cuypers' 12 goals currently leading the Golden Boot race.

And as a whole, Gregg Berhalter has his side set up to win most games, which they've done over the past couple of months. While they might be missing a true game-breaking playmaker, the Fire are a great litmus test for teams to test how they match up against a top side in the Eastern Conference.

Montréal failed that test back in February, but has a shot to show why they're here to stay in the Eastern playoff chase this weekend.

Availability

For Montréal, Fabian Herbers, Owen Graham-Roache, Hennadiy Synchuk and Bode Hidalgo all missed Wednesday's match, and it would be a surprise to see any of them play a role on Saturday. Additionally, Olger Escobar had to be substituted in the first half against Portland with an injury, and it seems unlikely he'll be back this weekend.

On the Chicago side, André Franco is still recovering from an ACL tear suffered last year, while Leonardo Barroso has been out since early April and isn't expected to return this weekend.

Projected XIs

With the Impact rotating on Wednesday, it seems likely all the usual starters who came off the bench midweek will be back from the beginning this weekend. TrueNorthFoot also projects the Fire will start an unchanged group from their win over D.C. United.

CF Montréal (4-3-3): Thomas Gillier; Luca Petrasso, Brayan Vera, Jalen Neal, Dawid Bugaj; Matty Longstaff, Samuel Piette, Victor Loturi; Iván Jaime, Prince Owusu, Wiki Carmona

Chicago Fire (4-2-3-1): Chris Brady; Andrew Gutman, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Jack Elliott, Jonathan Dean; Djé D'Avilla, Mauricio Pineda; Jonathan Bamba, Robin Lod, Philip Zinckernagel; Hugo Cuypers

Game information and how to watch

📆 Saturday, May 16 2026
⏰ 4:30 pm ET / 1:30 pm PT
📺 Apple TV
🧑‍⚖️ Fotis Bazakos
🏟 Stade Saputo, Montreal, Canada