Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire Predictions, Lineups and Betting Tips

Match Details: July 17th, 2025 | Mercedes Benz Stadium, Georgia | Major League Soccer Eastern Section

Both Atlanta United and Chicago Fire will meet on Thursday with improvement in mind, as both look to escape their current occupation of lower-mid-table in the Eastern section.

Though separated by just two places, nine points sit between the two sides, and Atlanta United will be desperate to narrow the gap, keeping them just about in touch with the top nine in the process.

Key Betting Tip: Both Teams to Score at odds of 1.38 on Highbet represent excellent value for the tip provided by our in-house tipsters.

Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire Predicted Lineups

Atlanta United Predicted XI (4-3-3): Jayden Hibbert (GK); Pedro Amador, Luis Abram, Efrain Morales, Brooks Lennon; Bartosz Slisz, Tristan Muyumba, Aleksey Miranchuk; Miguel Almiron, Emmanuel Latte Lath, Saba Lobjanidze.

Though they field a lineup erring on the attacking side, Atlanta’s recent games have seen anything but explosive offense. They have netted just twice in their last five MLS games, while they have conceded 10 in the same period.

There is simply a lack of confidence amongst the Atlanta United squad - their 90+5 victory over Orlando City at the end of May should have spurred them on, but it has instead had the opposite effect. Atlanta are sitting too deep, are building up too cautiously, and defending too loosely to have any chance of silverware this season.

In terms of absentee’s, Atlanta are missing four players: midfielder Ajani Fortune through a foot injury, centres backs Derrick Williams and Stian Gregersen through respective foot and hip injuries, and back up goalkeeper Josh Cohen through an arm injury

Chicago Fire Predicted XI (4-3-3): Chris Brady (GK); Andrew Gutman, Sam Rogers, Jack Elliott, Leonardo Barrosa; Sergio Oregel, Brian Gutierrez, Mauricio Pineda; Jonathan Bamba, Hugo Cuypers, Philip Zinckernagel.

Similarly out of form, Chicago Fire at least find themselves relatively close to the MLS play-off places. Just one point behind ninth placed Charlotte FC, they are certainly in a better place than Atlanta to launch an attack into the play-off spots.

However, if they are to do this, their form must improve - one win in their last in their last six, with the other five ending in defeat have certainly not been conducive to play-off worthy form - in fact, they have dropped out of the play-off spots with this run of results.

Chicago Fire are missing five first team players through injury or mitigating circumstances: Carlos Teran (muscle injury), Chris Mueller (personal leave), Christopher Cupps (muscle injury), David Poreba (muscle injury), and Justin Reynolds (head injury).

Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire Current League Standings

Home side Atlanta sit nine points behind Thursday’s opponents in 12th, while Chicago Fire occupy 10th, right on the cusp of Championship play-off contention. The nine points separating the two sides represents a considerable gulf - even more so when it is considered that Chicago Fire have won eight games this season, double the tally of Atlanta United.

Atlanta have been effective at churning out draws, managing seven in the MLS this season, but single points do little to help league position, and the hosts have found this out the hard way. Outside of that, 10 defeats and just four wins underline exactly why there is so little confidence amongst the group.

In terms of the overall Supporters Shield, the table that combines both the Eastern and Western sections of the MLS, Atlanta sit 25th, with just five teams lying below them, while Chicago Fire occupy a much more respectable 17th.

Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire Head to Head Timeline

Despite recent form that would suggest otherwise, Atlanta actually hold a slim advantage in the head to head record between the two sides since 2017, winning eight to Chicago Fire’s six, with three draws in between.

Last Five Head to Head Meetings:

• May 2025: Chicago Fire 2-1 Atlanta United.
• April 2024: Chicago Fire 0-0 Atlanta United.
• Mar 2024: Atlanta United 3-0 Chicago Fire.
• May 2023: Chicago Fire 3-3 Atlanta United.
• April 2023: Atlanta United 2-1 Chicago Fire.

Atlanta’s last victory, a 3-0 stroll in March 2024, came over a year ago - Georgios Giakoumakis opened the scoring on the stroke of half time, before a second half double from substitute Jamal Thiare settled the game.

However, Chicago Fire have the bragging rights in this fixture after sealing victory against Atlanta two months ago. Hugo Cuypers gave them an early first half lead, before Atlanta levelled through a Sam Rogers own goal. With Atlanta fans already celebrating a point, Rominigue Kouame broke their hearts with a winning goal four minutes from time.

Atlanta United and Chicago Fire Recent Match Analysis

Atlanta United’s Last Five Games:

• Toronto 1-1 Atlanta United (MLS)
• DC United 0-0 Atlanta United (MLS)
• Columbus Crew 3-1 Atlanta United (MLS)
• New York City FC 4-0 Atlanta United (MLS)
• NY Red Bulls 2-0 Atlanta United (MLS)

Though two draws in their last two games have shown signs of improvement, there is still a long way to go if Atlanta are to become competitive with the top order teams in their division.

The simple fact of the matter is that they are not potent enough in attack - across their last four games, Atlanta have been out-shot by their opponents in every single one of them. Even in the game where they had more than their opponents, their 2-0 defeat to New York Red Bulls, they showed themselves to be pretty toothless in attack.

Emmanuel Latte Lath is certainly a presence up top, but his six goals in 20 games is not a good enough return for a player purchased for over £20 million pounds. Similarly, Miguel Almiron returning to Atlanta after seven years may have been something of a fairytale, but his output of three goals and one assist is similarly ineffective.

Chicago Fire’s Last Five Games:

• Chicago Fire 1-2 San Diego FC (MLS)
• Minnesota 3-1 Chicago Fire (Open Cup)
• Cincinnati 2-1 Chicago Fire (MLS)
• Chicago Fire 3-2 Charlotte FC (MLS)
• Chicago Fire 0-1 Philadelphia Union (MLS)

In direct opposition to Atlanta’s troubles, Chicago consistently out-performed their opponents in attack, registering more shots on goal in their last four than each of their opponents - the issue is, they haven’t been able to finish off the move.

In all, they have had 60 attempts on goal across these four games, 22 more than their opponents, and yet have lost three of them, indicative of shortcomings both in attack and in defence.

Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire Prediction

Our advanced algorithm has analyzed over 200 data points to predict that both teams will score in this battle for league position, with Chicago Fire eventually sealing a narrow, and not particularly convincing 2-1 victory. This model factors in current form, head to head records, player availability and tactical matchups.

Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire Betting Tip

Football Park’s Best Bet: Both teams to score - both sides boast leaky defenses, and given their respective lack of luck in front of goal recently, both sides pose each other with an excellent opportunity to net a morale boosting goal or two.

Key Players to Watch: Atlanta United vs Chicago Fire

Bartosz Slisz (Atlanta United): The only player maintaining a consistently high level even in defeat, it takes a look to demotivate Bartosz Slisz. The Polish midfielder is superbly combative in defence, while also chipping in with a couple of goals in attack too - his influence will be key to where this Atlanta side finish come the end of the season.

Hugo Cuypers (Chicago Fire): Top scoring for Chicago Fire with 12 goals in the MLS, Cuypers has been key in the chase for the Championship play-offs. Always seemingly in the right place, and capable of excellent outside the box finishes as well as typically striker tap-ins, Cupers has provided himself an excellent MLS standard striker since his move from Gent in 2024.

Match Facts

Broadcast Details

UK, Europe and America: Apple TV +

Stadium Details: The Mercedes Benz Stadium, home ground of Atlanta United, is a state of the art facility, built to completion in 2017. Able to host 71 '000 fans at maximum capacity, it is the second largest MLS stadium.