The New York Red Bulls can boost their MLS playoff chances with a victory on Sunday against the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park.
Philly dropped to fourth in the Eastern Conference this week with their 3-1 loss at Toronto, while New York are three points behind that playoff line after suffering a 1-0 defeat to the New England Revolution.
Match preview
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The away form of the Union has kept them from competing for first place in the Eastern Conference all year, with Philly losing their seventh road fixture of the campaign earlier this week, the most away defeats this club have suffered in a single regular-season since 2019 (eight).
Even with a game in hand on FC Cincinnati, finishing first in the Eastern Conference by the end of the regular season seems unlikely, with Philadelphia currently trailing the Orange and Blue by 14 points and only nine matches still to play.
Strange things can happen in MLS though, and with four of their next five domestic contests occurring at home, the Union have an excellent chance at the very least to claim sole possession of second place, as they are currently unbeaten in eight successive league fixtures played at Subaru Park.
Only three points currently separate them from the New England Revolution in second place, though the Columbus Crew and Atlanta United are right on their tail, trailing them by one and two points respectively in the table.
Jim Curtin's men have held their opponents off the scoresheet six times at home in this competition and have only conceded multiple goals once (2-1 versus Orlando City).
Philadelphia are unbeaten in their last seven home matches in all competitions versus the Red Bulls, knocking them out in the round of 16 of the Leagues Cup earlier this year (5-4 on penalties).
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It was another disappointing effort for the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday as they failed to find the back of the net in an MLS encounter for the 10th time this season.
While a victory this weekend and a lot of help could put them above the playoff line heading into their subsequent encounter, the Red Bulls' playoff run, spanning 13 seasons, could come down to how they fare over the next three weeks.
Three of their subsequent four MLS encounters will take place away from home where New York have only captured one victory all season, while they have lost three successive road fixtures in this competition.
The Red Bulls have not scored more than once against the Union during normal time in their last 10 competitive matches played against them, while they have not beaten them at Subaru Park since 2018 (1-0).
For them to duplicate their points total from the previous campaign (53), Troy Lesesne's men must win each of their remaining nine domestic encounters.
With a mere 29 points after 26 league fixtures, it is the fewest that this club have accumulated at this stage of a 34-game regular season since 2009 (17).
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Team News
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Jose Martinez will miss this upcoming Philly clash through suspension after picking up another yellow card in midweek, with Jesus Bueno also ruled out for Sunday following his red card deep into injury-time, having entered their match on Wednesday in place Alejandro Bedoya.
Julian Carranza has a goal involvement in back-to-back encounters, notching their only strike in Toronto, while Mikael Uhre had his two-game scoring streak end in that defeat.
Daniel Gazdag had the only Union goal the last time they hosted the Red Bulls in the regular season, Nathan Harriel equalised in their round of 16 Leagues Cup fixture against them, as that match went to penalties where Jack McGlynn saw his spot kick saved, but New York missed two themselves, including the decisive kick from Lewis Morgan which was stopped by Andre Blake.
Elias Manoel will be questionable for the Red Bulls this weekend due to a foot issue, Dylan Nealis and Lewis Morgan have sore hips, Steven Sserwadda is recovering from a sprained knee and Serge Ngoma could be sidelined once again because of a hamstring strain.
John Tolkin was the last Red Bulls' player to score for them in the regular season, on a night when Carlos Coronel did not have to make a single stop in a 1-0 win at home to DC United, the first clean sheet for the Brazilian in this competition since June 24 (4-0 victory over Atlanta United).
A 66th minute strike courtesy of Luquinhas helped them earn a 1-1 draw in their previous regular season visit to Chester against the Union, Manoel had the opening goal in their Leagues Cup defeat versus Philly, with Daniel Edelman and Morgan failing to convert their spot-kicks.
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Lowe, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Bedoya; McGlynn, Flach; Gazdag; Carranza, Uhre
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; Duncan, Reyes, S. Nealis, Tolkin; Fernandez, Edelman, Carmona, Luquinhas; Barlow, Hurtado
We say: Philadelphia Union 2-0 New York Red Bulls
We rarely see the Union put together consecutive poor showings in MLS, and we expect to see a more determined effort from this group on Sunday.
Their experience in these end of season races and overall balance should be enough to earn them another home victory against a team that have failed to find much consistency all year.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
