Philadelphia Union vs New England Revolution: Philadelphia Leads the Eastern Conference Standings

• Philadelphia Union take on New England Revolution this Friday at the Subaru Park
• Philadelphia Union have won their last two matches in the MLS
• New England Revolution haven’t won their last three matches in the MLS

Philadelphia vs New England Odds

Philadelphia vs New England Prediction

New England Revolution have recovered a little after making a disastrous start to this MLS campaign, but still remain a little inconsistent. The good news for them is that they’re still in contention for a playoffs spot. 

Philadelphia Union head into this match in good form and currently lead the Eastern Conference standings. The two last faced each other in a tight game in the month of May in a 1-1 draw. 

The sides have a long history with each other, having faced off 37 times. New England Revolution have the superior record with 19 wins. Philadelphia Union have won 10 with the remaining 8 matches ending in a draw.

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Previous Meetings

Philadelphia Union don’t boast a great record against the New England Revolution overall and in recent times. The last match between the two ended in a 1-1 draw. New England went up first before a Mikkel Uhre equalizer gave Philadelphia Union a valuable point. 

Bruce Arena’s side dominated possession with 59 percent of it. It was one of their strongest performances of the season, registering 22 shots on goals (four on target) against one of the sturdiest defenses in the league. They also managed to only be on the receiving end of five shots on goal but the Philadelphia Union were typically clinical, scoring from one of their two shots on target. 

Like much of this year, it was a frustrating outing for the New England Revolution, who haven’t been able to take advantage of good performances with results. It was the opposite last season when they were fortunate on many occasions to end the league season with 71 points, a record in MLS history. 

The Philadelphia Union Sit On Top of the Eastern Conference Standings for Now 

They’ve got New York City FC right on their tail but Philadelphia Union are currently leading the Eastern Conference standings by one point with a game in hand. Daniel Gazdag and Cory Burke were on the scoresheet earlier in the week against a flailing Inter Miami side as they won 2-1. 

There was some other good news for the Philadelphia Union before the game as Julian Carranza became a permanent transfer, which allowed him to play against Inter Miami, who were his parent club. Carranza has been a great addition for the Philadelphia Union, scoring a hat-trick in the recent 7-0 rout against DC United.

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The Unbeaten Home Record Is Still Intact

It’s hard to see Philadelphia Union ending this match with a negative result and their excellent home form is one of the reasons for that. They’ve still not been beaten at the Subaru Park. Home form is crucial for any side that wants to dominate their league. It is a sign that the form is sustainable and manager, Jim Curtin, should take a lot of responsibility for turning Subaru Park a fortress this season. They’ve only conceded five goals at home all season and have managed five clean sheets as well. 

The Midfield Has Been Key to Their Strong Defensive Record 

They’ve conceded the fewest number of goals in the league so far with only 14. They also enjoy the best goal difference in the league of +16. They have to be a bit careful, however, that they aren’t too dependent on the defense. They have an expected goals allowed of 22.3 according to FBref. It’s not particularly common these days but Philadelphia Union play a 4-3-1-2 formation quite regularly, which gives them real solidity in midfield. 

That area of the field is packed with some hard workers, making it very difficult for teams to breach them. The lack of goals has been a bit of a concern all season and Brandon Aaronsen’s departure to Leeds United will be a big loss for the team as he knit the attack together from attacking midfield but the permanent capture of Julian Carranza should help. The seven goals against DC United last week would’ve eased the nerves a little. 

Injuries and Suspensions

No injuries or suspensions. 

New England Revolution Still Lacking Consistency 

Bruce Arena’s side have had a frustrating campaign all season and were on the receiving end of a 4-2 loss against New York City FC earlier this week. Just when it looks like they’ll be a shoo-in for the playoffs, something tends to interrupt their flow. They’ve not had a great month after recovering from their disastrous start to this campaign. They’ll be optimistic about their chances of making the playoffs despite it all but things aren’t going to get any easier with Philadelphia Union up next. 

New England Revolution Can’t Stop Conceding Goals 

They’ve allowed 32 goals already, which is the fourth highest in Eastern Conference. For comparison’s sake, they allowed 41 in 34 league games last season. They’ve only played 19 games so far and look like they’re going to match that tally in the next five games. 

They’ve been a tad bit fortunate, with FBref stating that they’ve got an expected goals allowed of 27.6 but this isn’t a massive difference and they do look a bit leaky when you watch them. Last season, everything that could go in their favor did go in their favor as they went on to record 71 points in the league. Things haven’t worked out as favorably this term. If they can get their backline to function a bit more cohesively, this team remains one of the stronger sides in the league on their day. 

The Attack Is Still Firing 

Despite all the problems at the back, they’ve been decent going forward with 31 goals so far. Adam Buksa, Carlos Gil and Gustavo Bru have all looked pretty sharp. Buksa has scored 7 goals despite missing the early parts of this campaign. Gil has registered 10 goals contributions with 6 assists and 4 goals. 

The injuries to many key players at the start of the campaign hurt them a little this time out and they’ve been trying to play catch up since, which is never great. They also lost many of their games in the final minutes, adding to the frustration. Bruce Arena should also take some responsibility for the drop off since he didn’t adjust his tactics when certain players were unable. They’ll head into this game aware that Philadelphia Union don’t have the best record against them and have struggled a little in recent outings as well. They can definitely get something out of this game as they showed in a fairly impressive performance back in May. 

Injuries and Suspensions

Center forward Giacomo Vrioni hasn’t been available since 7 July, 2022.

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