In the midst of the all-star break, here’s a quick look ahead to what lies ahead for the Union this week, as well as what’s behind them, from new PSP contributor Chris Wetherson.

After Philadelphia took a hard loss to the San Jose Earthquakes back on July 10 they have been on a bit of a roll. The schedule for them after the July 10 game was vs. Celtic F.C., vs. Toronto and vs. Manchester United, a tough schedule for a new good team coming off a hard loss.

The Union were looking for results that they should be getting with all of the talent on the squad. They won the Celtic match 1-0 on a goal from Le Toux. Three days after the Celtic game the Union had to take on another good team, Toronto. Toronto was coming into the game with a 8-game unbeaten streak. Goals from Orozco Fiscal and Le Toux gave the Union a 2-1 win.

Philly next took on the giants of the EPL, Manchester United.  Some 44,000 screaming soccer fans showed up and what they got was a great game. Although the Union lost, 1-0, it was a great experience for such a young team to take on the Red Devils. Now they can take what they learned playing against Man U and use it against New England.

The Revolution currently sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, with Philadelphia in sixth. This is the first time the Union will play New England this season and if they win they can move into either fourth or fifth place depending on what Kansas City and Chicago do in their games.

The Sons of Ben will surely be doing their thing and singing for the Union for the whole game, which will help rankle the Revolution. They are surely the best supporters club in the MLS and that really does help Philadelphia on the pitch.

The players to look for in this game are:

• Sebastien Le Toux:  Le Toux will be coming into the game after being the first-ever Union player to be selected to the All-Star game. He scored the game winning goal against Toronto to add to his current tally of seven goals and seven assists.
• Danny Mwanga:  Mwanga had a great 82 minutes against Man U and gained the kind of experience that both young players and veterans alike benefit from. Look for Danny to step up for this New England game and have quite a few chances to score. He currently has five goals and two assists.
• Eduardo Coudet: Coudet is the new guy on the team and wants to excel in MLS. He had great games against Celtic and Man U. He might fill in for Roger Torres as a midfielder, since Torres is out for a couple weeks from his injury. He currently has 1 assist with the Union.

You can view the game on 6abc and WQMY.  The game is on July 31 and first kick is at 3:30 PM at PPL Park.