It will be the hometown Reds vs the visiting Men in Red to kick off September's schedule at BMO Field on Saturday night, with the CNE's last weekend serving as a backdrop. The game will mark Polish all-time great Robert Lewandowski's first visit to Toronto. The Reds, just recently back in the hunt for a play-off spot, will be hosting a surprisingly good Chicago Fire side.
Toronto will be hoping this rematch on the shores of Lake Ontario yields a better result than their 2-1 defeat to Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan back on May 23. Robin Lod and Andrew Gutman scored for the Fire, while Josh Sargent replied for the Reds.
How Chicago enter the match
The American side comes into town tied for third in MLS's Eastern Conference with the New England Revolution on 11 wins and 37 points. The Fire have a game in hand, giving them a slight edge over New England. Veteran coach Gregg Berhalter has them on a five-match unbeaten run in the league, with three wins during that stretch. However, the Fire have had a heavy August schedule, having played four Leagues Cup matches alongside their five MLS games.
Berhalter, who is also the Fire's technical director, has had the club among the more active teams in the summer transfer window, with several departures and additions. Departing were leading scorer Hugo Cuypers, Dylan Borso, Joel Waterman, and Chris Mueller. The latter was diagnosed with pericarditis in 2025, which severely limited his availability over the past two years and ultimately forced him to retire at 30.
Thank you for everything, Joel 👏
— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) September 3, 2026
We have received $100,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money, as well as a future sell-and-trade percentage, from the Portland Timbers in exchange for defender Joel Waterman. #cf97 pic.twitter.com/lxh9kD7WEA
Among new players added to the roster are defenders Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Noah Allen, midfielder Anzor Mekvabishvili, and attacking player Johan Gómez. Of course, the club's marquee signing was superstar striker Robert Lewandowski, of Dortmund, Munich, and Barcelona fame. Lewandowski has wasted no time adapting to life in Chicago or MLS, as his 82nd-minute goal last week against Seattle helped the Fire avoid defeat and come away with a draw.
As expected from a Berhalter team, the Fire are an aggressive high-pressing side without the ball, but in possession are methodical in their build-up and like to exploit the wings. In many respects, Toronto FC will be facing a mirror image of themselves in tactical terms.
How Toronto enter the match
The Reds are well behind Chicago in tenth spot, with 13 points separating the two Saturday night contestants. Toronto are in critical need of three points as the regular season continues to wind down. Too many draws and other dropped points earlier in the season may prove to be the tragic flaw in their campaign.
Yet TFC's situation is not totally bleak, as the team is back in earnest contention for post-season football after last week's draw with New York City FC. The Reds are sitting just outside a play-in position on account of various tie-breakers with Orlando City, two points behind Red Bull New York, and three points off the final play-off spot held by New York City.
Robin Fraser will want to see his team take the early lead for once, instead of playing from behind as they have so often this season. As Fraser quipped about coming from behind after Toronto's last game: "It's not as good a position as leading."
Toronto's attack has come alive over the past few weeks, with eight goals in four August matches. The offensive awakening has been led by some strong performances from wingers Dániel Sallói and Theo Corbeanu. Fraser will be hoping the pair can continue from where they left off last week, when they combined late to rescue a point with a tying goal from a quick transition.
the linkup 🤝 pic.twitter.com/dUtJOqnFHn
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) August 30, 2026
Toronto FC general manager Jason Hernandez was not the busiest executive near the summer transfer window deadline, but there were some notable transactions. First, TFC saw the departure of hometown player Deandre Kerr, who went out on loan to Portugal's second-tier side AVS Futebol in search of more playing time.
Toronto also completed a pair of deadline deals with the signings of wingers Alejandro Piedrahita and Lewis Morgan. Both are expected to be available for selection within the week, with the latter possibly in the match-day squad on Saturday night.
In many respects, the Reds simply having most of their injured players fit and ready for selection again will feel like new signings in itself for the play-off push.
Player availability
The Chicago Fire have just three players to report as out for Saturday night's game. André Franco and Mbekezeli Mbokazi are out with lower-body injuries, while Jonathan Bamba also has a lower-body injury and is listed as doubtful.
Numerically, Toronto FC's injury situation is the best it has been all season. Captain Jonathan Osorio continues to be out with a knee injury, and summer signings Niklas Dorsch (head/face) and Nelson Palacio (reconditioning) are also listed as out for tomorrow.
Dorsch has returned to full training, albeit wearing a face mask, but remains doubtful for tomorrow's game despite being officially listed as out. The decision on his involvement will be made closer to kick-off.
The mystery surrounding Nelson Palacio and his return remains unsolved. The midfielder was signed by the Reds two months ago but has yet to make the match-day squad, with questions lingering over his fitness at the time TFC acquired him from Real Salt Lake.
Projected XIs
Chicago Fire (4-3-3): Chris Brady; Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott, Sam Rogers, Leonardo Barroso; Robin Lod, Djé D'Avilla, Anton Salétros; Maren Haile-Selassie, Robert Lewandowski, Philip Zinckernagel
Toronto FC (4-2-3-1): Luka Gavran; Richie Laryea, Walker Zimmerman, Benjamín Kuscevic, Matheus Pereira; Markus Cimermancic, Alonso Coello; Dániel Sallói, Đorđe Mihailović, Theo Corbeanu; Josh Sargent
Game information and how to watch
⏰ 7:30 pm ET / 10:30 pm PT
📅 Saturday, September 5, 2026
📺 Apple TV
🧑⚖️ Tori Penso
🏟 BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario
