2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champion Orlando City (12-10-6, 42 pts.) returns to league play this Saturday night, heading up to Chester, PA to take on the red-hot Philadelphia Union (17-4-9, 60 pts.). The match is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised locally on FOX35 PLUS and LionNation TV, with pre-game coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Local radio coverage will be available from 7 p.m. ET on FM 96.9 the Game in English and Acción 97.9 FM in Spanish.
Here’s everything you need to know about Philadelphia:
Key Transactions
Key Additions - CF Julián Carranza (Inter Miami), CF Mikael Uhre (Brøndby)
Key Departures - AM Jamiro Monteiro (San Jose Earthquakes), CF Kacper Przybylko (Chicago Fire), CF Sergio Santos (FC Cincinnati), RW Ilsinho (retirement), AM Anthony Fontana (Ascoli), CM Jack de Vries (Venezia)
Take a look at Philadelphia’s full roster here.
News
The Union have moved up in the world since we last saw them on July 23 at Exploria Stadium. Philadelphia’s torrid run of form, detailed below, has given it a chance to set an MLS record this year. The Union’s current +42 goal differential is the second-best in MLS history. Philadelphia would have to go +7 over its final four games to pass 2019 LAFC, the side that currently holds the record at +48.
Team Form
Philadelphia has run roughshod over MLS for the past two months, winning 10 of its past 12 games and reaching six goals in a game an astonishing four times in that stretch. The Union have 18 goals in their last four games alone, with Daniel Gazdag scoring six times and Julián Carranza adding five goals over the four matches.
Head-to-Head
Philadelphia was victim no. 2 on Orlando City’s Open Cup title run, with the Lions knocking off the Union 2-1 back in May. Ercan Kara and Andrés Perea both struck for Orlando, with Perea’s 30-yard thunderbolt standing as the game-winner. The Union got a modicum of revenge in the league on July 23, with Gazdag scoring the game’s lone goal in a 1-0 Philly win.
Rasmussen University Fact
Carranza has been a revelation for Philadelphia this year, scoring 14 goals and adding nine assists in 27 appearances. The Argentine had scored just three times in MLS in 41 appearances prior to this year, all with Inter Miami. His first two came in the same game…against Orlando City on August 22, 2020, a 3-2 win for Miami that also marked Daryl Dike’s first start and goal in purple.
