Photo: Marjorie Elzey

Who: Philadelphia Union (2022: 4-1-0, 13 points, 1st place in the East) vs.Columbus Crew (2-2-1, 8 points, 5th place in the East)

What: 2021 MLS Regular Season.  

Where: Subaru Park, Chester, PA

When: Saturday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern

Watch: PHL17; PhiladelphiaUnion.com

Whistle: Referee: Armondo Villarreal  Asst Referees: Corey Rockwell, Lyes Arfa;  4th Official: Alyssa Nichols; VAR:Edvin Jurisevic; AVAR: Peter Balciunas

The Union return to Subaru Park on Saturday evening firmly planted in first place in the East and tied on points with LAFC for the overall lead in the MLS (but behind in goal differential).  With 13 points in just five matches they are exceeding the high expectations from the start of the season.  

Now, a negative Nancy might point out that their five opponents have a combined record of just 6 wins, 6 draws and 14 losses. But it’s also true that you can only play whoever is facing you on the pitch and being able to dispense of lesser adversaries is the sign of a quality team. 

Any doubts will be put to rest as the talented Columbus Crew come into town. 

The Union were able to handle Columbus last season as they won two and drew one, including a 3-0 win on October 3. The home team is also unbeaten in their last six home games vs the Crew with a clean sheet in the last five.

Scouting Report: Columbus Crew

The Crew have been a bit of an enigma so far in this campaign. Following a 4-0 win in the opener against Vancouver, they gave up two late goals in a draw against San Jose, beat Toronto 2-1 against the run of play, drew with the Red Bulls and lost last week 1-0 against Nashville. Getting a read on them is perhaps a fool’s errand.

The team with the oldest players in MLS is full of familiar names. Central midfielder Darlington Nagbe, a consummate ball handler and passer, is now in his 12th MLS season. Forward Gyasi Zardes is still around, but may be losing his starting spot to Miguel Berry – though neither forward has performed particularly well this season, with only one goal apiece.

Crew coach Caleb Porter’s system revolves around creating numerical advantages and then working combination plays. Nothing groundbreaking there, but to make that system run, it all starts with Lucas Zelarayan. The central attacking midfielder can both score and create and has a menacing shot from outside the box. Zelarayan has a team high four goals and two assists already this season. He did get a knock a couple of weeks ago but started last week and is expected to play against the Union.  

Defensively, the Crew have only given up one goal in the run of play, so math says the other five have been on set pieces – something for them to work on.  In the offseason they revamped their backline, adding Milos Degenek out of the Serbian league to pair up with stalwart center back Johnathan Mensah, and moved Pedro Santos from his normal winger position to left back.

Injury report: None

Suspended:  None

Scouting report: Philadelphia Union

The Union took care of business last week versus Charlotte for their fourth straight win -and they looked good doing it. The defense was solid as usual earning their third straight clean sheet – even with Alejandro Bedoya out while nursing his wounds. And offensively, Julian Carranza performance earned him a spot on the MLS team of the week.

Assuming Bedoya is back and replaces Quinn Sullivan, who started in his stead, the lineup will be the Union standard. The real only question is who will start up top. To have four quality forwards to pick from is certainly a high class problem. Carranza is a safe bet as he is in top form.  Sergio Santos is nursing a strained hamstring, so this will likely be the game where we see Mikael Uhre start, with Cory Burke coming in to clean up in the second half.

The Union have done a good job of keeping Zelarayan under control in the past. Jose Martinez, and to a lesser degree Leon Flach, will have to keep close tabs on him and ensure he does not get open looks – even from outside the box – or commit any penalties.

Injury Report:  Questionable: Sergio Santos

Suspended:  None

Key Matchup:  Darlington Nagbe vs Union Press

The Union’s press has been back in force this year and a big reason for their early success.  Nagbe has the field awareness and distribution prowess to break it down.

Bonus Key Matchup: Lucas Zelarayan vs Jose Martinez

One of the best No. 10s up against one of the best No. 6s. Martinez will spend a lot of time following Zelarayan around.  He must resist fouling as Zelarayan is a free kick specialist – and to avoid any more card accumulation (an evergreen bit of advice for Martinez).

Player to Watch: Mikael Uhre

Unless Curtin was out to obfuscate the opponent in his midweek press conference, Mikael Uhre will finally make his first start on Saturday.  It will also be the first time to see him paired up with Julian Carranza. Uhre has had several great scoring opportunities in his limited time on the pitch.  His resume says he can score so once the seal is broken, the ball should be flying onto the net.

Prediction:  Philadelphia 2-1 Columbus

An assist from Gazdag for Uhre’s first goal. 

Moneyline: 

Philadelphia Union:    +100

Columbus Crew:         +275

Draw:                           +230