The 2024 regular season might be winding down, but intensity is ramping up for the Philadelphia Union as they make the short trip north to battle New York City FC on Wednesday night. Don't miss the Eastern Conference clash starting at 7:30PM ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Union enter this final stretch of matches sitting three points out of a MLS Cup Playoff and are battling for their postseason opportunity which they’ve achieved for six straight years.
Their pursuit of points continues on Wednesday night when they take on New York City FC for the second time this season. NYCFC currently sits in sixth place with 40 points – three of which came when they defeated the Union 2-1 mid-May. Despite a second half effort, Philadelphia Union was unable to overcome a pair of first half goals scored by Alonso Martinez and Hannes Wolf.
Four months later, Philadelphia Union will take on their Eastern Conference foes with some different personnel, as there has been changes to their front three and goalkeeping corps since then. Julian Carranza scored the lone Union goal against NYCFC in May, and since his departure, Tai Baribo has stepped up in the team’s attack, scoring 14 goals across all competitions. Sam Adeniran has joined the mix too, contributing 283 total minutes since signing with the team in July.
In net, Andre Blake has since returned from an injury recovery that left him out for months, but after feeling some discomfort while playing with Jamaica during the international window, he sat out of Philadelphia’s match against Miami on Saturday. While it’s unclear whether he’ll be back on Wednesday, 18-year-old Homegrown Andrew Rick has claimed the backup spot, so there will be a change in net from their last meeting regardless.
Philadelphia Union will travel up I-95 four days removed from a competitive showing against Inter Miami, who prevailed 3-1. Mikael Uhre gave the Boys in Blue an early lead for the second straight game, but a brace from Lionel Messi and a third from Luis Suarez boosted the league’s top team even closer to securing the Supporters’ Shield.
