Chicago Fire v New York Red Bulls: Berhalter relishing reunion with Bradley

Gregg Berhalter is relishing a reunion with New York Red Bulls boss Michael Bradley, when his Chicago Fire side welcome them to Soldier Field this weekend.

During Berhalter's first stint as the United States' national team boss from 2018 until 2022, Bradley was his captain, before retiring from international duty in 2019.

Bradley hung up his boots three years ago and turned to coaching, starting out at Stabaek Fotball before joining the NYRB's reserve side last year.

After Sando Schwarz parted ways with the club last October, Bradley was appointed as their new boss, and his team sit 11th in the Eastern Conference.

Berhalter, whose Chicago team are fourth in the East, was asked what advice he would give Bradley about managerial life but believes his former player will do well in the industry.

"Well, I'm sure he's getting a lot of advice from his father [former USMNT manager Bob Bradley], and he's got some great pedigree," Berhalter said.

"He probably doesn't need my advice, but, you know, coaching is a journey, and he's a smart guy, and for him, it's just a continual journey to keep learning and keep improving.

"And if you could do that as a human being, as a coach, I think you'll position yourself well. But it's been fun watching him, really the first of this generation to get an opportunity to be a head coach in MLS, and it's really nice to see."

Final. #cf97 pic.twitter.com/33xtp2FvSs

— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) May 3, 2026

But Bradley's side suffered a fifth defeat of the season in their last MLS outing after they slipped to a 2-0 loss at home to FC Dallas, with Petar Musa and Sam Sarver on target.

It was a frustrating match for NYRB, who, despite registering an expected goals (xG) total of 0.88 from nine shots, failed to test Dallas goalkeeper Michael Collodi once.

And ahead of taking on his former boss, Bradley urged his team to respond to that disappointing setback, demanding a more relentless approach.

"By and large, in the first half we played pretty well," Bradley said. "The second half started a little bit choppy, with fouls, and neither team was really getting a grip on things.

"Then, obviously, we concede the first goal. And at that point, it's the most obvious thing in the world to say, but goals change games, especially in tight games.

"From there, the response — our ability to really push the game, to be relentless, to play forward, to make chances and push back into it — that part wasn't what it needed to be."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chicago Fire – Hugo Cuypers

Cuypers is the first player in MLS history to score in each of his first seven appearances of a regular season.

He has scored multiple goals in three straight matches, with Lionel Messi the only player in league history to score multiple goals in four or more straight games (five straight in 2025).

NYRB – Jorge Ruvalcaba

NYRB failed to record a shot on target in their defeat to Dallas, just the second time in the last five seasons that they did not hit the target in a match, but Ruvalcaba tried his best.

He finished with team-high totals for shots (three) as well as touches in the opposition box (five) and successful dribbles (two), and he will be hoping for more luck this time around.

MATCH PREDICTION: CHICAGO FIRE WIN

Chicago have lost only one of their last seven matches against NYRB (W3 D3), including winning the last meeting, 1-0, last July.

The Fire have won two straight meetings with New York only once in the last decade, doing so during the 2021 season.

However, their five-match regular-season unbeaten streak came to an end with defeat to FC Cincinnati last time out. The Fire haven’t lost consecutive matches since last July, following up their last five losses with four wins and a draw in the next match.

NYRB, meanwhile, have lost three straight matches in all competitions after losing just three of their first 10 matches of 2026 (W4 D3). The Red Bulls have not lost four straight matches in all competitions in just over a decade, last doing so in April 2016.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chicago Fire – 53.2%

Draw – 24%

NYRB – 22.8%