The New York Red Bulls (4-2-2, 14 pts.) travel to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Fire (2-2-4, 10 pts.) on Saturday, April 30. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET with coverage on MSG, MSG GO, and New York Red Bulls Radio in English and Spanish via TuneIn, the New York Red Bulls app and NewYorkRedBulls.com.
Get to know who the Red Bulls will be playing in their upcoming matchup.
How they’re doing
Chicago Fire FC were the early story of the 2022 MLS season. After finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference in 2021, Chicago started the season unbeaten after five matches.
During that stretch, though, three 0-0 draws lead to questions about the Fire’s attack. Those questions have only grown in number, as they have failed to score a goal in their last four matches.
This is the third time in team history that the Fire have gone four straight games without scoring, also doing so in September 2010.
They now return home to face the tough challenge of finally breaking through against a Red Bulls team that hasn’t conceded in 189 minutes.
The catalyst for the success that Chicago has been the defense. Before last week’s match against Minnesota, they had only allowed two goals in seven matches.
That defense couldn’t hold against Minnesota, though, as Chicago conceded three goals in a 16-minute span in the second half of its loss.
Head-to-Head History
This will be the 70th matchup between Chicago and New York.
The Red Bulls currently have a 22-34-13 record against the Fire, with their last win coming on May 5, 2021.
Only Columbus, New England, and D.C. have more matches against New York in their club history.
The Fire won their last two matches against the Red Bulls, winning home and away last August. Chicago had won only two of its previous 13 meetings with the Red Bulls dating back to September 2015.
Who to Watch: Goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina
The 17-year-old goalkeeper has been the talk of the league so far in 2022.
He is currently tied for the league lead with five clean sheets in eight matches in only his second MLS season.
He has already surpassed his clean sheet total from 2021, where he had four in 11 games played.
During that 2021 season, he became the youngest goalkeeper in Major League Soccer history to start a match and the youngest to earn a shutout when he made his professional debut against New York City FC.
His recent performance has garnered a lot of International attention from both Poland and the United States.
If the Red Bulls hope to continue their winning streak on the road to start the season, they’ll have to get through the wonder kid between the posts.
