Subaru Park in The City of Brotherly Love will be the venue for a first-place showdown in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer as the Philadelphia Union host New York City FC on Sunday.
The reigning MLS Cup champions have an opportunity to stretch their unbeaten streak to double digits with a point in this one, while Philly are just a point behind them for first place.
Match preview
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It will come as no surprise to see the Union battling it out for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, something that we are all too accustomed to seeing from them in the regular season.
Over the past few seasons, their DNA has been a solid defensive shape, while producing just enough quality in the attacking third to get by.
Manager Jim Curtin recently called out his team for playing a little too safe, and the results would back that claim with the Union becoming the fourth team in league history to draw seven of their previous eight domestic affairs.
Philly have looked somewhat stagnant according to their boss and seem to be missing a quality number nine who can turn these single points into three.
Operating with a narrow diamond in midfield has allowed them to facilitate quick and dangerous transitions, having been shut out only once in the regular season.
So far in 2022, they have not lost a home fixture, looking incredibly organised and compact along the backline, conceding a goal or fewer at Subaru Park.
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The opening match for interim manager Nick Cushing was a far cry from what we are used to seeing from the Pigeons.
Cushing has been clear that he is not about to start implementing new ways or ideas of playing, and it is hard to argue that, seeing as his predecessor Ronny Deila led them to an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions before moving to Standard Liege in Belgium.
That lengthy run ended at the U.S. Open Cup this week in an always-heated affair against their rivals across the Hudson River, the New York Red Bulls, who defeated the Cityzens 3-0.
We saw 39 fouls committed in that encounter, plus three expulsions as the Boys in Blue failed to put their 66% possession to good use, failing to score for the first time since early May.
New York are a team who usually have the ball for extended periods and can be extremely effective when stretching the play out wide.
That tactic was effective when they came back to beat the Union 2-1 in the 2021 Eastern Conference Final en route to winning their first league title.
The Pigeons have been solid defensively away from home, with three clean sheets in their five road matches in this domestic competition.
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Team News
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Alejandro Bedoya tallied his third goal of the season for Philadelphia in their 1-1 draw against FC Cincinnati a week ago, moving him one back of Julian Carranza for second on the team in that department, while Carranza picked up an assist on that tally.
Bedoya and leading goalscorer Daniel Gazdag scored in a 2-0 win versus NYCFC in March as Andre Blake made three saves to collect another clean sheet.
Mikael Uhre could be out of this encounter with a quad injury suffered against Cincy, as he and Carranza were the only newcomers to the starting 11 last weekend, replacing Sergio Santos and Paxten Aaronson.
New York City FC starting goalkeeper Sean Johnson leads the league with eight clean sheets, and Talles Magno notched his third of the campaign in their draw against the Colorado Rapids (1-1), moving into a tie for third on the team with Alexander Callens.
Their Golden boot winner from 2021, Valentin Castellanos, has not found the back of the net in his last four matches in all competitions.
He is only two back of Jeremy Ebobisse and Jesus Ferreira for top scorer this season, while Santiago Rodriguez leads them in assists with five.
Anton Tinnerholm is out with a torn Achilles tendon, Kevin O'Toole has a head issue and Gabriel Pereira will not feature in this one because of a lower-body injury.
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Wagner, Elliott, Glesnes, Harriel; McGlynn, Martinez, Bedoya; Gazdag; Carranza, Burke
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Gray, Martins, Callens, Amundsen; Parks, Morales; Rodriguez, Moralez, Magno; Castellanos
We say: Philadelphia Union 1-0 New York City FC
Battling their bitter rivals always seems to take a toll on NYCFC, and we could see a battered and bruised side, who only have a few days to recover from that physically demanding game against the Red Bulls.
Philly should benefit from The Pigeons' fatigue and continue their unbeaten run at home, where they have managed to shut down the most potent MLS sides.
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