Gregg Berhalter believes the congested nature of the Chicago Fire's schedule will benefit them as they look to bounce back against Charlotte FC in MLS on Saturday.

Chicago have lost their last two matches to Nashville SC and Philadelphia Union at home without scoring a goal, seeing them drop to 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Prior to those defeats, the Fire had beaten D.C. United 7-1 on the road, but they have since struggled in the final third despite having 29 shots across those two matches (nine on target).

But Berhalter believes the quick turnaround means his players will not lose their hunger to earn a victory.

"These are the ups and downs of the season. It's perfectly normal. We don't like it, but every team has to go through journeys," he said after the Philadelphia defeat.

"This journey includes a tough stretch for us where we've lost two games in a row and didn't score a goal, and that's our reality.

"Now it's about sticking together and regrouping. Thankfully, three days later, we get to play again. That's where the hunger and desire come in. We want to win, but for me, it's important to focus on this process and see the players respond to a tough loss."

Charlotte have also lost their last two matches, conceding twice in stoppage time on Wednesday to lose 2-1 to Sporting Kansas City.

They sit just one place above Chicago in the East, currently occupying a playoff spot, but are level on points with their hosts.

Head coach Dean Smith hopes to see a positive response, but insists he is not worried despite recent results.

"We have to get better at what we're doing. We've got some players that aren't performing at the high levels that they were performing at," he said.

"My job is to get the best out of them, and we will do that. There's a lot of football to be played. We haven't travelled well at all, but we'll have plenty of home games where we'll need the supporters.

"But first and foremost, we have to turn it around against Chicago on Saturday."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chicago Fire – Philip Zinckernagel

Philip Zinckernagel led the Fire with four shots in Wednesday's loss to the Union, which was his most in an MLS match.

Zinckernagel has scored in seven different MLS games this season while not attempting more than three shots in any of those.

Charlotte FC – Souleyman Doumbia

Souleyman Doumbia recorded his first goal contribution in MLS with an assist to set up Idan Toklomati's goal on Wednesday.

It was Doumbia's first goal contribution in a league match since recording an assist with Angers SCO in Ligue 1 in April 2022 against Lyon.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Chicago Fire beat Charlotte FC 4-1 when the teams met in North Carolina in May. That ended a five-game losing streak in the fixture for Chicago, as their only other result against Charlotte was a 3-2 road win in the first-ever game between the clubs in August 2022.

Chicago are coming off consecutive shutout losses with defeats to Nashville SC and Philadelphia Union. The Fire had been held scoreless in just two matches in 2025 prior to this streak, and both of those were draws.

Meanwhile, Charlotte conceded twice in stoppage time to suffer a 2-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday.

They have lost two of their last three MLS matches when scoring first (W1) after not having lost any of their previous 19 MLS matches (regular season and playoffs) when scoring first (W15 D4).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chicago Fire – 38.8%

Draw – 26.5%

Charlotte FC – 34.6%