Photo: Paul Rudderow

Who: Philadelphia Union (3rd place, 50 points, 13-11-8) vs. FC Cincinnati (14th place, 20 points, 4-8-20)
What: 2021 regular season game
Where: Subaru Park, Chester, PA
When: Sunday, October 31 at 7:30 pm
Watch: PHL17, Star64, ESPN+
Whistle: Not available at time of publication, check here for updates.

The penultimate game of the 2021 MLS season sees the Philadelphia Union hosting FC Cincinnati in a bid to have at least one more game in Chester this year. Cincinnati has had an absolute shambles of a season, losing an astounding 20 games so far with the possibility of earning the distinction of the fourth-most losses in an MLS season – if they can’t get a result in their final two games.

Standing between the Ohioans and a date with history is your Philadelphia Union. After a disappointing draw in Toronto earlier this week, the Union are looking to give themselves a buffer before next weekend’s trip to the Bronx to face New York City FC on Decision Day.

Scouting report: FC Cincinnati

Potential FC Cincinnati Lineup

Unfortunately for MLS’s first “Queen City”, it appears the visitors they peaked before joining the league with their impressive and exciting 2017 US Open Cup run. Since that magical moment it’s been a parade of the usual “expansion team” struggles mixed with more than their fair share of outright misfortune. Head coach Jaap Stam departed in September, and since then interim coach Tyrone Marshall’s team has slipped even further into last place in both the Eastern Conference and full-league standings. Of note, former Union Assistant Technical Director Chris Albright was named FC Cincinnati’s new General Manager earlier this month.

On the field things haven’t been any more stable, with the Orange and Blue fielding five different formations in the last five games. So take that into consideration when consulting the speculative lineup to the right. It’s only a guess, and it’s not like there’s a defined pattern one can point to that would indicate what to expect on Sunday night.

Despite the results, Cincinnati does have several players worth paying attention to. There is of course former Union midfielder Haris Medunjanin, and designated player Luciano Acosta from Argentina. And of course there’s the $13 million dollar man himself, Brenner, who was recently named to the MLS 22 under 22 list.

But despite that not insignificant collection of players, Cincinnati is still a deeply flawed team. If you were keeping tabs on other league action on Wednesday night while the Union were in Toronto, you may have noticed that at one point Cincinnati was leading Nashville 3-1. But included in that tally was an own goal in the sixth minute, and a penalty in the seventeenth. So while it was a brief beacon of hope for Union fans, don’t assume that the eventual final scoreline of Nashville 6 – 3 Cincinnati was in any way not representative of who was the better team on the night.

• Injury report: Maikel van der Werff (D, sports hernia) and Beckham Sunderland (GK, concussion); Questionable: Gustavo Vallencia (D, hamstring)
• Suspended:No suspensions, but Luciano Acosta (M) and Caleb Stanko (M) are each one yellow card away from an accumulation suspension.

Scouting report: Philadelphia Union

Potential Philadelphia Union Lineup

While the most the Ohioans can hope for is an ignoble place in the record books, the Union actually have a lot to play for on Sunday. Officially they haven’t booked a ticket to the MLS Cup Playoffs yet, so the first order of business is of course securing that minimal definition of success. And even beyond that, there’s the question of seeding. Currently in third, the Union would secure at least one home game in the playoffs if they hold that position, and more importantly face the seventh-seed team (currently DC United) instead of fifth (Orlando City) in that match. And their final game of the season is against the team currently just three points behind them in the standings (NYC FC) making Sunday a must-win to give themselves a buffer going into Decision Day.

Unfortunately, despite the disparate qualities of the two teams, the Union aren’t a sure thing on Sunday. At best the striker corps has been unreliable this season; but with Cory Burke out with an injury, and Sergio Santos recovering from an injury, this certainly isn’t “at best”. Even Ilsinho, historically a wellspring of offensive potential, will be missing the game due to his ongoing hamstring issues.

This all leaves head coach Jim Curtin with essentially one option up top- Kacper Przybyłko. The German-Polish striker is capable of greatness, but is also capable of long, long periods without producing anything of value. Granted, heading into the playoffs would be a great time for him to start one of those streaks.

Of course, there is a rack of young talent waiting on the bench to show themselves. Both Matheus Davó and Jesús Bueno could justify their transfers by “arriving” on the team with goals over the next few weeks, and homegrown assets like Quinn Sullivan, Paxten Aaronson, Jack McGlynn, and Anthony Fontana all have things to say about offensive soccer.

However if you’ve watched much of the Union this season, or previous seasons honestly, you know that’s not going to happen. Jim Curtin will never turn down the opportunity to let someone play out of a rut, so it’s fairly likely that the starting XI will be full of names we’ve seen plenty of already. The only possible exception is Andre Blake, who may still be with his family following the passing of his grandmother earlier this week.

There has been some experimentation with formation though, and the lineup on the right is certainly experimental. It brings Stuart Findlay back from the hinterlands, freeing up Jack Elliott to move into the midfield. Elliott’s presence in the midfield gives them a solid dose of defensive reinforcement, allowing José Martínez to focus on offense and reducing the defensive responsibilities of both Olivier Mbaizo and Kai Wagner. Setting both outside backs loose on the opponent’s defense, and letting el Brujo work his magic could have fascinating implications. If it were to happen.

• Injury report: Ilsinho (M, hamstring), Cory Burke (F, ankle), Alvas Powell (D, hamstring)
• Suspended: No suspensions, but Kai Wagner (D) is one yellow card away from an accumulation suspension.

Key matchup: Luciano Acosta vs. José Martínez

Both of these midfielders are among the most important players for their respective teams. And since they each play a position where they’re going to be seeing a lot of one another, we’ve got something of a South American showdown on our hands. If el Brujo is able to do what we know he can do, it should remove Acosta from the game and make Cincinati’s attack especially toothless.

Player to watch: Haris Medunjanin

The Bosnian midfielder is well known in Philadelphia, and for the most part well liked. And he’s still perfectly capable of delivering those shockingly accurate long-range passes that set up strikers in seriously dangerous positions. Of course he’s also still perfectly capable of pointing at an attacking player as if that will somehow prevent them from doing what they are trying to do. Forcing him to do more of the latter, and preventing him from doing the former, will be key for the Union’s success on Sunday.

Prediction: Philadelphia 2 – 0 Cincinnati

The Union have not been a team to rack up points against an opponent this season. So even though they should be able to handle Cincinnati without issue, there’s no reason to expect a shocking scoreline.