Philadelphia Union continues its Western Conference road trip on Saturday night as the Boys in Blue battle Portland Timbers. Kick off is set for 10:30PM ET with coverage on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Philly enters the matchup after battling back for a 2-2 draw on the road at Austin FC. The debut battle between the two sides started off in the Union’s favor when Daniel Gazdag converted from the penalty spot to lift the side to a lead going into the break. The hosts came out on the front foot early in the final frame, scoring twice in three minutes to grab momentum but the Union took it right back with Mikael Uhre’s finish in the 65th minute. With the result, the Union are one of nine teams to start the 2024 league season without a loss, but over their three matches, they've racked up just three points.
Saturday’s roster will be quite different from ones that the fans have come to expect week in and week out over the past few seasons, with the game in Portland occurring during the FIFA International break. With sustained success comes international call-ups which means Jose Martinez and Jesus Bueno (Venezuela), Andre Blake and Damion Lowe (Jamaica), Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel (United States U-23), Daniel Gazdag (Hungary), and Tai Baribo (Israel) will miss the contest. Overall, the group has contributed nearly 50 percent of all minutes played in league matches.
Head Coach Jim Curtin has stressed all year that players must make the most of their opportunities and Saturday’s match is a big one. In goal, the Union are expected to turn to Oliver Semmle who has picked up minutes in net while Blake recovered from an early season injury with three games started without a loss. The defensive line remains stable with Olivier Mbaizo available as a right back replacement alongside Jakob Glesnes and Jack Elliott while left back Kai Wagner remains as well. The front line will stay together too ,with Mikael Uhre and Julian Carranza having combined for seven goals so far in 2024 while young pieces like Markus Anderson and Chris Donovan could see minutes with the Portland turf. The midfield depth could see a unique formation possibly with Quinn Sullivan, Alejandro Bedoya and Jeremy Rafanello having seen minutes thus far. Sanders Ngabo and homegrown Nick Pariano come into the week fit and ready to impress after strong performances in Philadelphia Union II’s 2-1 win on Sunday.
The international break has been friendlier to the Timbers, with only the trio of Maxime Crepeau, Kamal Miller and Migual Araujo away for Canada and Peru. Portland is coming off a 1-0 road loss to the Houston Dynamo that saw them suffer their first loss of the league season. The Timbers outshot Houston by a 17-9 margin but a loose deflection and finish from Ibrahim Aliyu in the first half proved the difference.
Before the shutout, Portland has been humming on offense with eights goals under new Head Coach Phil Neville with Evander, Antony, Asprilla and Moreno causing fits for opposing defenses. Even more attacking power has joined the group with official signing of forward Jonathan Rodriguez from Club America.
