Chicago Fire v Atlanta United: Berhalter open to De Bruyne move

Chicago Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter was open to the idea of welcoming Kevin De Bruyne to his ranks as rumours of a move to the MLS continued to intensify.

De Bruyne will bring the curtain down on a stellar career with Manchester City at the end of the season, having helped the Citizens win 16 major honours. 

The Belgian has scored 108 goals and provided 177 assists across all competitions for City and will leave the top-flight with the second-highest assist tally (119).

De Bruyne has been linked with a move to Inter Miami, New York City FC, D.C. United and San Diego FC, though a transfer to Saudi Arabia has not been ruled out either.

The Fire, though, have one designated player spot remaining, and under Joe Mansueto’s ambitious ownership, Berhalter expressed his desire to improve his attacking options.

"I think that in a perfect world you'd be able to invest across the entire roster and say, 'OK, we can bring in world-class players in every position,' but it’s not perfect," he said.

"There's a salary cap, there's a limited amount of designated players. So I think the most sense is to bring in an attacking player.

"Someone that can change the game consistently from an attacking end and can work with the offensive weapons we already have to bring out more in them and help them continue and overall help the team both on and off the field."

The Fire face Atlanta United this weekend, with the Five Stripes ending their three-game losing and scoreless run in a 1-1 draw with Nashville SC in their last league match.

Miguel Almiron scored his third league goal since returning to the club, taking his tally to 24 with Atlanta, putting him second on the all-time list and surpassing Thiago Almada.

Atlanta head coach Ronny Deila was pleased with his team's display last time out, but wants to ensure focus remains throughout the entirety of their next match.

"I think we played really well to the goal. We were the team that we wanted to be, the team that we're talking about. I'm happy that I saw that, and I saw energy," Deila said.

"In the second half, we started to be more passive. That's not something we talk about, not something we want to do.

"What we have done this week, keep on doing the same things, believing what we're doing, and get that [first] period way longer."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers

Despite spending much of their match against Orlando City SC down to 10 men, the Fire managed to register an expected goals (xG) total of 2.62, with Cuypers key to that.

He recorded more shots on target (four) and touches in the opposition box (seven) for his team, though he will be keen to turn those chances into goals this time around.

Atlanta United – Brooks Lennon

Lennon's assist on Almiron's goal against Nashville was his 35th regular-season assist for Atlanta, tying Julian Gressel for the most in club history.

He also ended the contest with team-high totals for touches in the opposition box (five), passes in the final third (15) and possession won (six).

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

The Fire have lost only one of their eight home matches against Atlanta (W4 D3), including going unbeaten in six straight. The last three meetings in Chicago all ended in draws.

Chicago played a scoreless draw against Orlando on Saturday after conceding seven to Nashville in their previous match. The Fire are the third MLS team to keep a clean sheet in a match after conceding seven or more goals (San Jose in 2020, Montreal in 2019).

Atlanta, meanwhile, have collected only one point in their first four away matches of the regular season (D1 L3). The Five Stripes have won two of their last 13 away from home in league play dating back to last June (D4 L7).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chicago Fire – 38.5%

Draw – 26.5%

Atlanta United – 35%