For the second time in a week, the Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew will clash, with their Wednesday encounter occurring at Subaru Park as the Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season resumes for both sides.
Philly are a point behind the Eastern Conference playoff line despite winning their previous domestic encounter last month, 3-0 over Nashville SC, while the newly crowned Leagues Cup champions are third in the East, though they lost their last MLS match 2-1 versus Atlanta United.
Match preview
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It was a disappointing end to the Leagues Cup for the Union, who missed out on a place in the next CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC) on Sunday, losing the third-place playoff versus the Colorado Rapids on penalties (3-1) in a match that ended tied at two after normal time.
Jim Curtin's men have nine games left in the regular season to try and avoid what would be an even bigger disappointment as they find themselves narrowly below the Eastern Conference post-season line and in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
To their credit, though, this team have started to build a little momentum and close that playoff gap, losing just one of their previous four MLS affairs while only suffering one defeat in normal time in nine successive competitive fixtures.
Four of their final nine regular-season contests take place at Subaru Park, with Philadelphia unbeaten after 90 minutes in eight consecutive home matches across all competitions, winning their previous two league games by a combined margin of 8-1.
So far in the 2024 MLS campaign, they have only claimed maximum points on three occasions at Subaru Park, the joint-fewest in the league, losing two domestic home contests this year when scoring first.
Traditionally, the Union are among the strongest defensive units in MLS, but they have regressed a little this season, conceding 42 goals, the most for them in a single domestic campaign since 2019 (50).
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On a joyous night at Lower.com Field, the Crew exercised their Champions Cup demons by defeating Los Angeles FC 3-1 to lift the Leagues Cup trophy.
That is their second title in nine months under manager Wilfried Nancy and their second international tournament victory after winning the Campeones Cup in 2020 (2-0 over Cruz Azul).
Columbus return to the MLS season on a two-match domestic winless run, squandering a 1-0 advantage and losing 2-1 to Atlanta United in their previous league encounter in July.
Three of their four regular season defeats this year have occurred away from home, though overall, they have been a much better road team in 2024, winning six matches as the visitors, two more than the previous domestic campaign.
Because of their run to the Champions Cup final and their Leagues Cup triumph, the Crew have plenty of opportunities to gain some ground in the Eastern Conference table, currently five points behind FC Cincinnati and 13 back of first-place Inter Miami, but with three games in hand on both sides.
The Crew eliminated the Union in the Leagues Cup semi-finals last week (3-1) but have not beaten them at Subaru Park since the 2015 MLS campaign (2-1), losing their last five visits to Chester.
Team News
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Isaiah LeFlore missed the third-place match for the Union on Sunday as he is recovering from a right knee injury, while Damion Lowe will be suspended for this encounter due to yellow card accumulation.
Tai Baribo was back in the lineup in their Leagues Cup fixture this weekend after missing their semi-final defeat through suspension, netting a brace and finishing the tournament as the top scorer with seven goals.
In their previous MLS encounter, Daniel Gazdag was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick in a comfortable victory over Nashville, with Andre Blake stopping three shots and collecting a clean sheet.
On Sunday, the Crew were once again without Evan Bush because of a wrist injury, while Nicholas Hagen got the start between the sticks instead of first-choice goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, though Nancy says that was the plan ahead of the competition, so expect Schulte to return to the starting 11 on Wednesday.
Andres Herrera is seeking his first MLS appearance after the Argentine right-back was loaned to the Crew from River Plate in early August, and Aziel Jackson is still looking to make his first regular-season start since being acquired from St Louis City in exchange for General Allocation Money in June.
Cucho Hernandez netted a brace, and Jacen Russell-Rowe scored once, enabling Columbus to win the Leagues Cup this weekend, while Diego Rossi had the only strike in their previous league fixture against Atlanta.
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Mbaizo, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Martinez, Q. Sullivan, Flach; Gazdag; Baribo, Uhre
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Schulte; Moreira, Camacho, Cheberko; Farsi, Jones, Matan, Arfsten; Rossi, Ramirez; Hernandez
We say: Philadelphia Union 2-0 Columbus Crew
The Union have built up some nice momentum at home recently, and playing a Crew side just a few days removed from the emotional high of winning the Leagues Cup, we believe the reigning MLS Cup champions will suffer a letdown in midweek.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
