Article author:
Reuters
New York City FC will head to Chester, PA on Sunday to visit the Philadelphia Union to catch up with the crowded eastern conference leaders in a nationally aired contest.
Entering the weekend, NYCFC, New York Red Bulls, Union and Orlando City were two points away in the top four spots in the east.
"They will try to control the space," said Nick Cushing, NYCFC's interim head coach. "They try to keep us on one side of the pitch, put the ball back in the center and allow us to hit us in transitions with a counterattack. The moment we allow them to hold the ball. , They will be really direct and they will play for the second ball and play set pieces. ”
In the suburbs of Philadelphia during the playoffs When the two teams met on December 5, NYCFC (8-3-3, 27 points) beat Union 2-1. Talles Magno scored a winning goal in the 88th minute, helping the NYCFC overtake the team that lost 11 players due to the COVID-19 protocol.
Both teams have played once this season. Union recorded a 2-0 victory at Yankee Stadium on March 19, when Alejandro Bedoya and Daniel Gazdag scored in the first half.
This defeat was part of the start of NYCFC's 1-3-1 regular season between the six CONCACAF Champions League games. Since then, the defending champion has been 7-0-2 in the last nine MLS games, achieving six shutouts after a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids who visited last Sunday.
The NYCFC are about to finish another non-MLS match after giving Red Bull a 3-0 decision on Wednesday in the US Open Cup quarter-final match.
Philadelphia (6-1-8, 26 points) drew in 2nd place with the Red Bulls, 1 point behind Orlando and 3 points behind CF Montréal in 5th place on the weekend. Union entered the league's eight leading ties this weekend and has been undefeated in eight games in a row (1-0-7) since the 2-1 defeat at Toronto FC on April 16.
"Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin said," It was the team that won the MLS Cup last year. It's the team that is playing the best in our league nowadays. The last time we were there, it was the team that knocked us out of the playoffs in the homefield, so all of this affects the game with our group. "
Last weekend Union continued to win undefeated streak when it settled on a one-on-one draw against visiting FC Cincinnati.
– Field-level media
