Photo: Kyle Grantham
Who: Philadelphia Union vs Columbus Crew
What: MLS Regular Season Match
Where: Lower.Com Field, Columbus, Ohio
When: 7:30 PM EST
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+
Or listen in on 97.5 FM with Dave Leno and Sebastien Le Toux on the call
Whistle:
REF: Allen Chapman
AR1: Logan Brown
AR2: Meghan Mullen
4TH: Thomas Snyder
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
AVAR: Ian McKay
After disappointing results in their previous two fixtures, the Philadelphia Union will travel to reigning champions Columbus Crew in an MLS matchup that could decide the Boys in Blue’s playoff fate.
Scouting Report: Columbus Crew
The Union were not the only team that suffered a disappointing mid-week loss last time out. In the Crew’s heavyweight clash with Inter Miami, Columbus dropped the result 3-2, losing out on the Supporters’ Shield. Still, Wilfried Nancy and his men won’t be too upset. They retain hold of 2nd place in the East and can’t finish lower than 3rd.
It’s possible Nancy rotates his players after a tough mid-week game and having already locked down a top seed for the playoffs. But, there’s no reason to expect any mercy from the Crew as they have a dangerous Cincinnati trailing them in 3rd by just one point.
Danger men for the Crew include former LAFC and Fenerbache forward Diego Rossi, DP Cucho Hernandez, and veteran striker Christian Ramirez. Mo Farsi and the illustrious Darlington Nagbe are influential from midfield but, Columbus will be without center back Rudy Camacho following his dismisal versus Miami.
Injury Report:
OUT: Evan Bush (arm)
OUT: Sean Zawadzki (torso)
Suspended:
Rudy Camacho (CLB): Red Card – Second Caution
International Duty: N/a
Scouting Report: Philadelphia Union
Jim Curtin will need to get the best out of his Union this Saturday. The Crew are a formidable opponent. They have a stacked roster from top to bottom and an elite coach in Nancy. To make matters worse Curtin and the Union haven’t beaten them since an Opening Day 4-1 win last season.
In an interesting schedule quirk, the two teams met twice in one week at the end of August. First, the Union traveled to Lower.Com field for the Leagues Cup Semi-Final, a game in which Columbus thoroughly beat the visiting Boys in Blue 3-1. Then, the Union hosted the Crew at Subaru the following Wednesday but were narrowly beaten 1-0.
Point is, these two teams are familiar with each other. It’s hard to beat any team three times in a season, and the Union are starting down the barrel of playoff elimination if they don’t get a result.
Injury Report:
OUT: Isaiah LeFlore (knee)
Suspended: N/a
International Duty: N/a
Key Matchup: Battle in the Midfield
Last time out the Union took too long to establish control of the game against Orlando. They frequently lost the ball in the middle of the park and it cost them. They will need to adjust or else Columbus will shred through them like they did in the Leagues Cup match.
Player to Watch: Quinn Sullivan
Despite the difficulties of the season, Sullivan has begun to emerge as one of the top young talents in the league. After his goal against Orlando the Home Grown is up to 4 goals and 11 assists on the year. He’s been one of the few bright spots for Philly, and the Union will need a big game from him in a massive match for the club.
Prediction: 2-1 Columbus
If the last two games are indicative of the 2024 Philadelphia Union, they’d need a lot of help to win this matchup. Columbus have less to play for, but they have rarely lacked motivation this year, and will want prime position to defend their MLS title.
The Union will be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose (AND Montreal gets a result versus Charlotte AND Toronto beats Miami). It’s backs against the wall time, but it feels like the Boys in Blue will come up agonizingly short once again.
Two of those three scenarios look to be mortal locks tonight. The variable is Miami-TFC. Does Martino rest everybody or not? Either tonight or decision day, the purge of the Union will hopefully begin.
With Miami’s win over Toronto (their game kicked off at 4pm), the Union are unable to be eliminated tonight… but without a result their playoff chances would get a lot more difficult.
They lost 3-2. Montreal lost, too. U have conceded 2 or more goals in 23 games. Blake has started in 11 of them.
So all Montreal need do is get a result v. NYCFC next Sunday and they get 41 points. U are at 37.
If the Union win in the last game, and either Montreal or DC lose in their final games….we are in the playoffs. We own all of the tie-breakers if we are all at 40pts. Those two teams have their final games against NYCFC and Charlotte, too, which helps. We play Cincinnati in the last game, who can’t improve with a win, but also would not drop seeding with a loss. Would the Midwest Union (Cincy front office/coaches/players) do a solid for the organization that built their team for them? We’ll find out if they rest everyone and try to make it as easy as possible for the U. At least that way we could get 3 games against Inter Miami, which would reward Season Ticket Holders with a Messi game at Subaru Park. We would, of course, have to win that last play-in playoff game against either DC or Montreal first. Given the way the season went so far, though, that could easily be just another poor outing for the Boys in Blue. But, if we happen to get by Inter….how epic that would be! JUNGITE aut PERITE!
Father of Ben, the way I calculate the table, we do not own all the tiebreakers. Montreal and DC currently have 40 points and ten wins each, both of them. They both have to lose on decision day gaining no points each, and the Union have to win gaining three. then all three teams are tied on points, on wins with ten, and the Union own the second tiebreaker which is goal difference.
What about head to head? FCM is 1-0-1 against the U, IIRC. As we were 1-0-1 v. DCU?
And why is there still no game summary up, 15 hours after it ended?
Why does anyone even want this totally undeserving team in the playoffs? It is very clear that the Union ownership either don’t have the means or the will to truly compete in a Messi-era MLS. Our academy is not all that it is made out to be, i.e. the defensive deficiencies of Q. Sullivan and J. McGlynn, and the countless other ‘homegrowns” that have stepped on the field this season. At least if you are going to “play the kids” in order to sell them on, reinvest the money into your first team. Tanner’s hot streak of being a bargain-basement shopper has truly fizzled out. Cincinatti will blow this team out in two weeks and even if the Union do manage to play in the 8/9 game, they will lose on the road to DC, MTL, or ATL because they actually have players that cost more than a 2.2 million dollar transfer fee.