It's a new week with a new challenge for CF Montréal, as they look to move past a disappointing 5-0 loss in their season opener in San Diego.
This week, they head down to the windy city, facing a Chicago Fire side that also dropped their opener, as they let a 1-0 lead slip in Houston, falling 2-1.
Montréal will look to win in Chicago for the first time since 2022, where Ismaël Koné and Romell Quioto found the net in a 2-0 win at Soldier Field.
How CF Montréal enter the match
It all went wrong in San Diego last Saturday, as Montréal were trounced by the hosts from start to finish, on everything from set pieces to possession to a Tomás Avilés red card.
It was a night to forget for Marco Donadel's men, but a season is not defined by one loss, even if it was 5-0.
The team is on the road for a tough six-game stretch to start the season, and if they're able to keep afloat and pick up a few points along the way, they'll be in a decent spot with plenty of home games to come before the World Cup break.
How Chicago Fire enter the game
Gregg Berhalter's side enters their home opener after a disappointing 2-1 loss in Houston on opening weekend, where they took a 1-0 lead into the second half, but goals from new Dynamo winger Guilherme in the 67th and 78th minutes saw the hosts take all three points.
The Fire are coming off their first playoff appearance since 2017, and the duo of Philip Zinckernagel and Hugo Cuypers will look to cause danger to a leaky Montréal back line.
Availability
For Montréal, Fabian Herbers remains the only player absent for Saturday's game, according to Donadel. Meanwhile, Ivan Jaime is not 90 minutes fit yet after dealing with an injury in pre-season, but could feature from the start or off the bench for a certain number of minutes.
The Fire are dealing with some injury concerns, specifically at left back, where both Andrew Gutman and Viktor Radojević are expected to miss their second game each due to injury.
Other starters like centre back Jack Elliott, winger Jonathan Bamba and midfielder Robin Lod are questionable, while midfielder Andre Franco remains sidelined with an ACL tear sustained last season.
Centre back Sam Rogers was absent from training on Thursday, so his status is also up in the air.
Projected XIs
TrueNorthFoot projects a similar lineup from their opener for both sides, with a few changes, mostly due to injury and suspension.
CF Montréal (4-2-3-1): Thomas Gillier; Bode Hidalgo, Brandan Craig, Efrain Morales, Brayan Vera; Matty Longstaff, Victor Loturi; Wiki Carmona, Olger Escobar, Dagur Dan Þórhallsson; Prince Owusu
Chicago Fire (5-4-1): Chris Brady; Leonardo Barroso, Sam Rogers, Joel Waterman, Mbekezali Mbokazi, Maren Haile-Selassie; Chris Mueller, Anton Salétros, Dje D'Avilla, Philip Zinckernagel; Hugo Cuypers
Game information and how to watch
📆 Saturday, February 28, 2026
⏰ 2:30 pm ET / 11:30 am PT
📺 MLS Season Pass, TSN, RDS
👤 Elijio Arreguin
🏟 Soldier Field, Chicago, United States
