Toronto are one defeat away from equalling their longest-ever MLS losing run in club history, set in 2012, as they host the Philadelphia Union at BMO Field on Wednesday.
The Reds lost an eighth successive league fixture last weekend, 2-0 versus the Columbus Crew, while the Union came away with a comfortable 3-1 victory over DC United, moving them up to second in the Eastern Conference, above the New England Revolution on goal difference.
Match preview
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It was another strong effort by TFC over the weekend, but once again, the visitors had nothing to show for it, failing to find the back of the net for a third straight encounter as the visitors in this competition.
Interim manager Terry Dunfield failed to claim a single point during his brief tenure in charge, with the Reds scoring just once in their last eight competitive fixtures.
The club have hired John Herdman to be the new coach, with the Englishman having guided the Canadian men's national team to their first World Cup appearance in 36 years last winter.
The last time Toronto found the back of the net, it occurred at BMO Field, but ultimately, their two second-half strikes versus CF Montreal were in vain as the Reds are winless in their previous six matches played in Toronto in all competitions, scoring in only one of those encounters.
Toronto have suffered numerous embarrassing defeats in Philadelphia, losing four straight road contests to the Union, with three of those losses being by three or more goals.
It has been a different story, however, when the two sides clash at BMO Field, where the Reds are unbeaten in their last three MLS meetings with Philly, winning two of those matches by a 2-1 score.
TFC have lost 10 consecutive domestic encounters when conceding the opening goal, though they have come back to earn at least a point at home versus the Union in each of their last three matches against them.
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As we have often seen from them in the past, Philadelphia seem to be hitting their stride domestically near the tail end of the regular season, earning maximum points in three consecutive MLS fixtures after losing back-to-back games at the start of July.
The victory over DC was their second-straight triumph away from home in this competition, as Jim Curtin's men need only four more wins in between now and the end of the regular season to officially book a place in the MLS Cup playoffs for a sixth successive campaign.
With so much attention being paid to Inter Miami since the arrival of Lionel Messi and the spectacular season put together by FC Cincinnati, the Union have quietly climbed their way near the top of the Eastern Conference table, scoring the fourth-most goals in the league to date (42) and they are tied with Los Angeles FC for the second-fewest conceded (27).
Philly have not won an MLS road match all season when trailing at the half, but have come back to win two away contests in this competition after going behind 1-0, defeating the Colorado Rapids and New York City FC, 2-1 and 3-1 respectively in May.
Should they manage to win eight of their final 10 regular-season encounters, the Union would equal their points total from 2022 (67), while there is a chance this team can match the MLS record for points in a regular-season campaign, though Philadelphia must win all of their remaining fixtures to tie that mark set by the New England Revolution in 2021 (73).
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Team News
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Toronto will be without first-choice goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who is still recovering from hand surgery, third-stringer Greg Ranjitsingh is out following his knee surgery, while Cristian Gutierrez, Adama Diomande and Latif Blessing are all dealing with lower-body injuries.
Raoul Petretta is eligible to return after missing their match last weekend through suspension, while Victor Vazquez and Michael Bradley have featured in the previous two Reds' encounters in this competition, after missing a significant portion of the campaign with lower-body issues.
Federico Bernardeschi had both Toronto goals in their previous home outing versus Montreal, with Aime Mabika scoring into his own net in that outing, while Jonathan Osorio set up both TFC strikes when they lost to the Union earlier this year (4-2), with one of those goals coming from Lorenzo Insigne.
Julian Carranza was back in the Philly lineup last Saturday after missing this team's final two Leagues Cup encounters with a hamstring injury.
Mikael Uhre has a goal in back-to-back competitive matches for the Union as he, Jack McGlynn and Daniel Gazdag all found the mark in their victory versus DC United.
Gazdag and Uhre have each netted four times for Philly against Toronto, with the latter picking up a hat-trick the last time they faced the Reds this season, while Andre Blake has lost his previous five visits to BMO Field, conceding multiple strikes each time.
Toronto possible starting lineup:
Romero; Franklin, Mabika, O'Neill, Petretta; Bradley; Servania, Vazquez, Osorio; Bernardeschi, Insigne
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Harriel, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Martinez; Bedoya, McGlynn; Gazdag; Uhre, Carranza
We say: Toronto 1-3 Philadelphia Union
While Toronto have put together some solid performances at home to the Union, there does not appear to be a lot of harmony within this group - which has been evident by their results - and it will take more than the presence of John Herdman to steer this club back on course.
This is the time of year where the Union seem to bring it all together, and given their current form and the race for second in the East being so close, we expect to see them put forth another inspiring performance in midweek.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
