With five starters out this weekend, Saturday is shaping up to be a weekend of firsts as Philadelphia Union hosts St. Louis CITY FC on Saturday night at Subaru Park. Tickets are going fast for the contest presented by College Ave so click here or watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Saturday's showdown marks the first match of the year against a Western Conference opponent but also the Union's first-ever meeting with St. Louis, and the first clash between Bradley Carnell and the club that gave him his first Major League Soccer head coaching gig.
“At the end of the day, it's just another game, a cross conference opponent. But sure, there's special people there that I connect with and keep in touch with,” Carnell said in his Thursday press conference.
“I’m going to welcome a lot of the faces and the people I've been in contact with all the time. So special memories, for sure, but at the end of it, it's three points on the line.”
Under new Head Coach Olof Mellberg, the Missouri started the season with back-to-back scoreless draws, but through matchday four, they’ve become one of seven unbeaten teams, most recently defeating LA Galaxy 3-0 and Seattle Sounders 1-0. Four different goal scorers contributed to their recent victories, while on the other end of the field Roman Burki held it down in net with three straight clean sheets before picking up a hand injury. Backup Ben Lundt was between the posts against Seattle, and with clean sheet of his own, St. Louis are now the only team that hasn’t conceded a single goal so far in 2025.
“They haven't considered a goal for a reason, right? So they plug up around the box, they defend deep, they are very passive in that area, and they do a great job at it. They defend the box really well, and that's going to be a tough breakdown. The challenge is to find moments, find plays, to try and expose them. And that's what we've been working on this past week,” Carnell said.
As for the Union, they dropped three points for the first time last weekend, falling 3-1 to Nashville SC at home. Like Sunday’s match was, this weekend’s meeting will be a test, as seven first team players were called up to their respective national teams, and Olwethu Makhanya is unavailable for selection after picking up a red card.
Carnell had used the same starting xi for the team’s first four matches of the season, but five of those players, namely Andre Blake, Danley Jean Jacques, Tai Baribo, and Frankie Westfield are part of the contingent away. Because of that, Philadelphia Union will come out with a different crew for the first time this year.
The team leader assured the media that all remaining players, other than Markus Anderson, are healthy and available for selection.
“Everyone's great, everyone's training. Everyone's ready and an option,” he said.
That includes centerback Ian Glavinovich, who’s been sidelined with an injury for the past three matches. The Argentine defender played six minutes as a sub in the team's season opener againt Orlando City on the road. He hasn't been back in game action since then, but it's possible he'll his Subaru Park debut on Saturday.
