Philadelphia Union will look to record their first victory of the Major League Soccer campaign on Sunday, when they welcome New York City FC to Subaru Park.
Despite a slow start to the domestic season, the hosts come into this game on the back of a dominant 3-0 win over Atlanta United in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final tie.
Match preview
© Reuters
Philadelphia Union will come into this game full of confidence following an impressive win in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final last time out.
The U travelled to take on Atlanta United in the first leg in Georgia, and despite long periods of dominance from the home side, Jim Curtin's side came away with a 3-0 lead going into the second leg thanks to a Kacper Przybylko brace and a late Anthony Fontana goal.
Their focus will now turn back to the MLS, as they look to put their first win on the board following a goalless draw and a defeat to start the campaign.
Curtin's men fell to a narrow defeat in their last league game against Inter Miami, as Jamiro Monteiro put them ahead early in the second half before late goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Federico Higuain saw the visitors snatch all three points.
They will aim to put themselves in the top seven on Sunday with their first win of the campaign, as they host New York City FC.
The visitors picked up an eye-catching victory last time out, as they defeated FC Cincinnati 5-0 at home.
A Jesus Medina brace alongside goals from Gudmundur Thorarinsson, Valentin Castellanos and a Nick Hagglund own goal saw the Boys in Blue secure their first league win of the season.
That was an impressive turnaround following their narrow opening defeat, as Castellanos's opening goal away at DC United was followed by goals from Brendan Hines-Ike and Russell Canouse for the hosts to take all three points.
Ronny Deila's men will now go in search of back-to-back victories to cement themselves at the top end of the Eastern Conference from the beginning of the MLS campaign.
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Kacper Przybylko will lead the line for Philadelphia with confidence, having netted a brace in the cup win last time out.
He could again be joined by Cory Burke, with Jamiro Monteiro offering plenty of attacking threat from midfield.
At the other end of the pitch, Jack Elliott and Jakob Glesnes will partner up at the back, having kept two clean sheets in the last three games.
Ronny Deila could look to keep his side unchanged from the team that comfortably beat Cincinnati last time out, following a particularly impressive performance by the Pigeons.
Their line will be led by Valentin Castellanos, who has netted in each of their first two MLS games this campaign.
Jesus Medina will also offer plenty of threat from the wide areas, having netted a brace in the win over Cincinnati.
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Mbaizo, Glesnes, Blake, Wagner; Bedoya, Martinez, Flach; Monteiro; Przybylko, Burke
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Jonson; Tinnerholm, Chanot, Callens, Thorarinsson; Sands, Parks; Medina, Moralez, Jasson; Castellanos
We say: Philadelphia Union 1-1 New York City FC
We see these sides coming into this game on a fairly level playing field, and both with plenty of confidence following big victories last time out.
On this occasion, we see them cancelling each other out and each side settling for a point in a cagey game at Subaru Park.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Philadelphia Union win with a probability of 45.99%. A win for New York City FC had a probability of 29.85% and a draw had a probability of 24.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Philadelphia Union win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.29%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.77%) and 2-0 (7.23%). The likeliest New York City FC win was 1-2 (7.24%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.26%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 4.4% likelihood.
