Philadelphia Union heads to its only road match of April this weekend, facing off against Eastern Conference rivals New York City FC at Citi Field. Tune in with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV to watch the action on Saturday night.
It’s been a week of significant change for Philadelphia Union, with the club announcing the injury of Ian Glavinovich on Monday and the transfer of Daniel Gazdag. However there’s still a match to be played on Saturday, and that remains the focus for Head Coach Bradley Carnell, his staff, and his players.
On Friday afternoon, the team will embark on a short bus trip down I-95 and into the Big Apple to take on New York City FC for the first time this season. After claiming just one point over their last two games, Philadelphia Union is still at the top of the Eastern Conference standings in third, and they’ll look to return to their early-season form against 11th place NYC.
The match ahead marks another meeting between two newly signed Head Coaches – Bradley Carnell joined the Union just four days before NYCFC appointed Pascal Jansen as their new gaffer.
With new leadership and new players added to both sides, there’s not much to glean from the split 2024 series that saw New York City win 2-1 in May, then the Union claim an explosive 5-1 win at Yankee Stadium in September. This Eastern Conference clash has a clean slate, and it all goes down on Saturday night.
“Both of us are very forward passing teams in transition. I think we're number one. They're number two in terms of the transitional phase. So when linking up through Morales and Parks and what have you, those guys can be very dangerous playing forward passes and getting runners in behind,” Carnell said.
“That's something for us, especially on that field, things come at you quickly and spaces run out quickly as well. It’s going to be a frantic game. It's going to be a tight game. You know their PPDA (passes per defensive action) at home is the lowest in the league of any home team. So, we know what type of game that puts you in, and we feel pretty comfortable in those types of games. We just have to get on the front foot and be the initiator of that sort of energy.”
Who’s in, who’s out
- Ian Glavinovich will not be part of the matchday roster. The 23-year-old Argentine centerback underwent a successful meniscus surgery early this week, and has already begun the recovery process.
- Kai Wagner is still questionable after missing the last two matches with an oblique injury
Without Glavinovich, Philadelphia Union’s defensive depth changes, meaning young players like Neil Pierre could be called on to join the matchday 20. When asked about the young 17-year-old centerback in his weekly press conference, Carnell commented on his progress, explaining to the media that he, or a more seasoned versatile player, could be the solution on defense if needed.
“I think Neil's come a great way. He's still learning the tricks of the trade.We've put him into the deep end, and he's learning to swim. He trains with us every single training session. We put him through some tough games in preseason, he'll be playing tonight [for Union II] as well,” Carnell said Thursday.
“Then, we do have the great options of an outside back rolling into the center back position too if need be so. Right now, yeah, we feel we have enough coverage there if need be.”
