Preview: Philadelphia Union vs. Sporting Kansas City

The Philadelphia Union will be in danger of losing three consecutive games in a single MLS regular season for the first time since 2017 when they host Sporting Kansas City at Subaru Park on Saturday.

Last weekend the Union had a 13-match winning run at home in the regular season and playoffs come to an end when Orlando City beat them 2-1, while SKC are still searching for their first win of the campaign, falling 4-1 to the Seattle Sounders the last time out.

Match preview

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Their streak lasted over nine months, but within 10 minutes, it was all over as the Union failed to recover from two early goals conceded last week, dropping to eighth in the Eastern Conference.

That was the first time since May 2021 that they conceded multiple goals in a single home game and their first defeat against the Lions at Subaru Park in nearly four years.

Jim Curtin has seen his side concede the opening goal in four of their five matches played this year, one in the opening three minutes in each of their previous two encounters.

Saturday will be their first meeting against a west coast opponent this season, with the Union unbeaten in regular-season home games against that conference since falling 3-1 to the Portland Timbers in May 2019.

Philly did not simply beat teams in the Western Conference down the stretch of the 2022 regular season, they demolished them, winning their last two games versus those opponents by a combined score of 12-0.

It’s been nearly a decade since they suffered a defeat at Subaru Park to SKC, dropping a 3-1 decision to them in October 2013.

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Sporting Kansas City, one of the most consistently high-performing sides in MLS for years, have been anything but that so far in 2023.

Since taking over as the full-time manager in 2009, Peter Vermes has only suffered three losing seasons with this program, none of which occurred consecutively.

With only two points after five matches, it is their worst start to an MLS campaign since dropping their opening seven games in the 1999 season.

SKC, however, have not played as poorly as their record may indicate, although they have failed to find that killer instinct, scoring early in each of their last two encounters but struggling to maintain that early momentum, like last Saturday when they conceded four unanswered goals to Seattle despite going in front after five minutes.

They are tied with Philly for the league lead in shots (76), while leading outright in key passes (57) and dribble success rate (64.4%) though as a team, Sporting seem to be short on confidence and look hesitant in those dangerous parts of the field.

SKC come into this encounter on a nine-match road winless run in regular-season play, with their previous away victory coming at CF Montreal last July (2-1).

Philadelphia Union Major League Soccer form:

Philadelphia Union form (all competitions):

Sporting Kansas City Major League Soccer form:

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Union keeper Andre Blake is scheduled to return this weekend after missing their last encounter with an adductor strain, while Quinn Sullivan, Richard Odada, Jack McGlynn, Jose Martinez, Damion Lowe, Daniel Gazdag and Brandan Craig were all away on international duty.

Andres Perea scored his first as a Philadelphia player last weekend against his former team, while Chris Donovan started for the first time this season, playing alongside Mikael Uhre in the attack, replacing the suspended Julian Carranza.

Jakob Glesnes has started 78 consecutive regular-season affairs for the Union, the longest active streak among MLS players, as he, Blake and Gazdag were the only Union members to begin every match last year.

Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda sat out for SKC last weekend with sore knees, Johnny Russell, Tim Leibold, Kayden Pierre and Logan Ndenbe are all questionable with hamstring strains, while Kortne Ford is recovering from Achilles surgery, Ben Sweat will be suspended and Marinos Tzionis was on international duty a week ago.

Russell and Daniel Salloi are both one goal shy of reaching 50 for the team in all competitions, Remi Walter has a chance to make his 50th MLS start, while Erik Thommy leads the league in shots (20) and shots on target (11).

William Agada gave his team an early lead versus the Sounders, his first of the year and the eighth since joining them last summer, while Danny Flores made his Sporting KC debut, taking the place of Agada in the second half.

Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Mbaizo, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Bedoya, Flach, Gazdag; Martinez; Uhre, Torres

Sporting Kansas City possible starting lineup:
Pulskamp; Zusi, Castellanos, Fontas, Voloder; Espinoza, Walter, Thommy; Russell, Agada, Salloi

We say: Philadelphia Union 2-0 Sporting Kansas City

These Union players have been in this league long enough to know how to deal with adversity, and we expect them to turn things around this weekend against a team with many newcomers still learning what it takes to win in MLS.

How to watch

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For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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