Photo Courtesy of Philadelphia Union

Who: Austin FC vs Philadelphia Union

What: MLS Matchday 21

When: Saturday, August 22nd, 8:30 PM EST

Where: Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas

Watch: Apple TV

Whistle: Rodrigo Albuquerque (REF), Cameron Blanchard (AR1), Jeremy Hanson (AR2), Armando Villarreal (4TH), Geoff Gamble (VAR), Tom Supple (AVAR)

Philadelphia comes into this match off the back of a 2-2 draw with Inter Miami on Wednesday night, a match filled with drama that snapped the Union’s perfect record under interim manager Ryan Richter. Richter’s Union side is still unbeaten in his tenure since MLS returned and faces a beatable opponent in Austin FC. Austin and Philly are both 5-5-10 on the year, but Austin’s goal differential (-14) doubles that of the Union (-7). Last time out, Austin beat Seattle 2-1 in Seattle, snapping a three-game losing streak. 

Austin performed well in the Leagues Cup, beating Tijuana, Puebla, and Club America to get through to the quarterfinals. That match is against Toluca, and a win would set up a semifinal against either Leon or Real Salt Lake. The Union won just one Leagues Cup game, a 3-1 win over Necaxa, and lost 1-0 to Cruz Azul and 2-0 to Santos Laguna.

Scouting Report: Philadelphia Union

Richter has had the Union playing very solid soccer during his five games in charge, and that didn’t waver against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. The Union generated 2.99xG against Miami (1.73) and completely controlled the match. They got on the board early and, after going down 2-1, battled to tie the game. Both Milan Iloski and Bruno Damiani had big chances to score in one-on-one situations, but the Union still played well enough to leave with a result.

The big highlight of the Miami match was at the end, though, as the Sullivan brothers got into a major scrap with Daniel Fray and Yannick Bright, after Fray tried to step over Quinn Sullivan, who didn’t take it too kindly. Cavan backed up his brother and was sent off for fighting, but has had his red card rescinded and is available for this one. 

Philadelphia recently announced the signing of former-Union homegrown center-back Mark McKenzie, which is set to be completed in January. Until then, though, Neil Pierre’s partner is likely to continue to be Nathan Harriel. Harriel’s been playing strong recently, but is still out of his natural right-back spot. 

These two sides drew 2-2 in their only meeting, back in Austin in March 2024. Mikael Uhre and Daniel Gazdag were the scorers for the Union, who went up 1-0 then fell behind 2-1 before drawing level. Diego Rubio and Jon Gallagher were the scorers for Austin; Gallagher is the only one of the four scorers who remains at the same club as in that match. 

Injury Report: N/A

Disciplinary Report: N/A

Scouting Report: Austin FC

Like Philly, Austin hasn’t had much to cheer about this season. After finishing 5th in the West last year, with a 13-8-13 record, the Verde and Black lost 6-2 on aggregate to LAFC in Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Osman Bukari and Daniel Pereira then left the club for a combined $8.85 million, but the club reinvested with a $9.5 million move for Facundo Torres and a $1.5 million move for Joseph Rosales. 

Austin also completed a blockbuster trade for Jayden Nelson, which included $1.2 million in GAM across the next two years and a first-round draft pick in the return. Torres, Rosales, and Nelson haven’t lit up the stat sheet this year, though, only combining for 4 goals and 6 assists between the three of them. 

Manager Davy Arnaud usually lines his team up in a 3-4-3 formation with a trio of center-backs, a pair of wing-backs, and a flat front three. Arnaud took over after the team’s rough start and has gone 5-0-4 in his nine games at the helm. They do not look to control the ball, and will use their wing-backs to sit back and create a 5-man blockade when out of possession. As a result, they will look to break quickly on the counter and strike while the other team is in transition. 

Austin has also been poor late on in games, conceding 17 goals in or after the 68th minute this season. That accounts for 17 of the 39 that Austin have conceded this year, which is a whopping number compared to the 25 they’ve scored. 

Injury Report: Owen Wolff  (OUT – Ankle)

Disciplinary Report: N/A

Matchup to Watch: Facundo Torres vs Kai Wagner

Torres has primarily lined up on the right wing this year for Austin, meaning he will be directly against star left-back Kai Wagner. Wagner loves to move forward, and as Austin cedes possession and Torres tracks back, the two will be seeing a lot of each other. Both have some speed and will be looking to help their team in transition, so Wagner will need to be on the lookout as Austin seeks to break out on counter-attacks. 

Player to Watch: Cavan Sullivan

After fighting (24-year-old) Yannick Bright in the match against Inter Miami and receiving a now-rescinded red card, Cavan Sullivan will be out for blood. He’s been getting better and better with each passing game, and has scored once and assisted on three occasions in his last three games. Sullivan has become a key part of this Union attack, and will be huge in any part of breaking down the low block that Austin FC rolls out there on Saturday. 

Score Prediction: Philadelphia Union 3-2 Austin FC 

Austin has not done a good job of keeping the ball out of their own net this year, and Philly has done a really strong job of scoring recently. Austin is strong at home, earning 14 points in 9 home matches, while Philly has only collected 7 points in 10 road matches. Both teams are coming off solid results, but the Union just seems to be the better team.