The deadliest attacking unit in Major League Soccer have a chance to move past Los Angeles FC for the Supporters' Shield lead with a win or a draw on the road this weekend, as the Philadelphia Union face the New York Red Bulls on Saturday at Red Bull Arena.
New York extended its unbeaten run to four straight matches by blanking CF Montreal 1-0 in midweek, while Philly won convincingly once again, 4-1 versus Atlanta United.
Match preview
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With just five matches remaining in the regular season, the Red Bulls have put themselves in a solid position to earn a home playoff game, currently third in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Montreal for second place.
Given how well-organised and structured they have been on the road in 2022, perhaps playing at home is not the best thing for them.
On Wednesday, New York claimed their 30th point away from home this year, the best total among MLS teams, conceding a goal or fewer in 11 of those encounters with five clean sheets.
What was in past seasons a fortress has become anything but that for New York, who have only won one of their previous five domestic games played at Red Bull Arena, with more than half of the goals conceded by them this year (19 of 34) coming on home soil.
Gerhard Struber and his side are inching closer and closer to a record 14th consecutive appearance in the MLS Cup playoffs, currently holding a 12-point lead in the playoff battle, needing three more wins to guarantee their spot in the postseason.
If they can capture another victory this weekend, it would be their highest win total in a regular season campaign since winning 14 encounters in 2019.
Collectively, it seems as though this squad have finally started to embrace the high press style that has made Red Bull teams worldwide so successful, with this group rarely looking out of position at the back and being sharp and potent on the counter.
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When the 2022 season began, the biggest question surrounding the Union was where the goals would come from after the team let their top goalscorer Kacper Przybylko sign with the Chicago Fire, while not adding an established number nine to take his place.
Over the past few weeks, though, that question has been answered, and the new question for the Union is how many goals will they score each game, as Philly have demolished their opponents in recent weeks, winning their last three encounters by a combined score of 16-1.
Jim Curtin has been able to count on a team who collectively might be even better than the one who captured the Supporters' Shield in 2020.
The Union have three players in double digits for goals so far this season, while their backline is still among the stingiest in the league, conceding the fewest goals in MLS (21).
They became just the second team in league history to score at least four times in three consecutive regular-season affairs when they put four past the Five Stripes on Wednesday, just a few days after setting the record for most six-goal wins in an MLS campaign (four) when they routed the Colorado Rapids 6-0 last Saturday.
Their victory on Wednesday was enough for Philly to clinch a playoff berth for a fifth successive campaign, while also setting a new franchise record for points in a regular-season (57), eclipsing their old mark of 55 from 2019.
If there is a negative one can say about the Union right now, it might be their form on the road, losing two of their last three outings, though their previous away game ended with an emphatic 6-0 triumph over DC United.
As potent as this side have been of late, they have had difficulties penetrating this New York backline at Red Bull Arena, netting a goal or fewer in five of their previous six visits to New Jersey, while failing to score in three of those matches.
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Team News
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Lewis Morgan has goals in back-to-back games for New York, scoring his team-leading 13th of the season in midweek, while Cristian Casseres moved ahead of him in assists with his fifth on that play and Carlos Coronel only had to make one save for his first clean sheet in his last five encounters.
Elias Manoel, on loan from Gremio in the Brasileiro Serie B, made his first start of the year for the Red Bulls on Wednesday, Daniel Edelman began in midfield for a fourth consecutive encounter, while Dylan Nealis wore the captain's armband with Aaron Long relegated to the bench for the full 90 minutes.
John Tolkin and Kyle Duncan are eligible to return from their suspensions, Frankie Amaya (groin) and Luquinhas (back) are both questionable with injuries, while Serge Ngoma and AJ Marcucci are out with a hamstring and shoulder issue respectively.
Daniel Gazdag has 25 goal contributions for the Union this season, scoring his 17th of the year earlier this week as he, Julian Carranza and Mikael Uhre, all of whom tallied in midweek, have each netted 10 or more times for this team in 2022.
Their other goal against Atlanta came courtesy of Nathan Harriel, his first of the year, with Uhre, Cory Burke and Alejandro Bedoya all picking up assists and Andre Blake made his 200th career regular-season start between the sticks.
After scoring his first of the season last weekend versus the Burgundy Boys, Matthew Real was on the bench in midweek, while Paxten Aaronson made an eight successive appearance as a substitute, replacing Carranza late in the second half on Wednesday.
New York Red Bulls possible starting lineup:
Coronel; D. Nealis, Reyes, Long, Edwards; Casseres, Carmona; Morgan, Fernandez, Luquinhas; Manoel
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Mbaizo, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Bedoya, Martinez, Flach; Gazdag; Carranza, Uhre
We say: New York Red Bulls 0-1 Philadelphia Union
What seems to be forgotten in everything that the Union have achieved lately is the fact that this is still perhaps the most formidable defensive unit in MLS.
We believe that will make the difference against a Red Bulls side who are equally solid along the backline but might not be able to match the scoring depth of Philadelphia.
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