Philadelphia Union is back in action Tuesday night as they host Deportivo Saprissa for the second leg of Concacaf Champions Cup Round One at Subaru Park.
Tuesday's match will be the Union's third game in seven days with the Union coming off a 2-2 draw on Saturday in their MLS opener. The stretch of matches began in Costa Rica where the Union earned a 3-2 road win. Advancing in CCC is decided by aggregate goals, and Head Coach Jim Curtin’s squad left Costa Rica with three away scores, setting them up comfortably for a match in the home fortress.
See below to find out what Saprissa would need to accomplish to overcome Philadelphia’s lead.
Last match
In the team’s first meeting with Saprissa, Philadelphia started off-kilter, with the only score of the first 45 minutes between both sides unfolding in the form of an own-goal in favor of Saprissa. But when the team emerged from the locker room in the second half, a switch flipped, and Julian Carranza led the charge with a momentous hat trick to win the match.
Though Saprissa found one goal of their own in a final effort to decrease Philly’s advantage in the 90th minute, Carranza’s trio holds quite a bit of weight, as away goals mean more if both team's finish full time on Tuesday with the same scoring total.
Should Philadelphia finish with the most goals over the two contests by the final whistle, they'll will move on to face Mexico City’s Pachuca on March 5th at Subaru Park in the Round of 16.
Players to watch
Head Coach Jim Curtin sent out a veteran-heavy lineup for the team's first 90 minutes of consequence in Costa Rica last week, unsurprisingly. But with their home-opener against Chicago Fire, which finished in a 2-2 draw on Saturday night, falling between the two CCC contests, it's more than likely that a cast of young players and new additions could appear in Curtin's first group.
As for Saprissa, Head Coach Vladamir Quesada's group dominated the attack totaling 16 shots to Philadelphia Union's nine, with veteran Mariano Torres and 19-year-old Warren Madrigal Molina taking the majority of the chances, though Costa Rican national Gerald Taylor Dosman was the only player on their squad to hit the back of the net.
The group is in for a challenge in an unfamiliar climate, with weather predicted to be 55 degrees and raining in Chester at first kick.
