It's Matchday 13, and New York City FC are on the banks of the Delaware River to play Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park.
New York City are coming off an emotionally-charged win over Toronto FC at BMO Field. NYCFC's first away win of the season ended with an on-field confrontation between the two teams that resulted in the suspension of Toronto head coach John Herdman, four additional Toronto players, and New York City defender Strahinja Tanasijević.
NYCFC are now 4-0-1 in their last five games — only Inter Miami CF, who are on a five-game winning streak, are in better form.
• Matchday 13: Philadelphia Union vs New York City FC
• Date and Time: Wednesday, May 15, 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Subaru Park in Chester, PA
• Forecast: Humid, windy, chance of showers, 61F/16C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Callum Williams and Calen Carr (English), Diego Pessolanoand Daniel Chapela (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Chris Penso (referee), Corey Richardson and Brooke Mayo (assistant referees), Joshua Encarnacion (fourth official), Jorge Gonzalez (VAR), Robert Schaap (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear their light-blue Interboro Kit for the third match in a row; Philadelphia will wear their midnight-blue XV Kit.
Philadelphia are still reeling after a 2-3 home loss to Orlando City. It was the Union's third home loss in a row — the team registered a single home loss in 2023, and was undefeated at Subaru Park in 2022.
The Union will once again be without goalkeeper Andre Blake. The shotstopper will be replaced by Oliver Semmle, who allowed eight goals in his last three starts.
New York City vs Philadelphia H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 32 | 32 | 0 |
The dead-even head-to-head between these two teams hides Philadelphia's recent dominance. The Union are 5-0-0 in their last five recent matches, with 12 goals scored and just four goals allowed.
To look at it another way, New York City last beat Philadelphia on December 5, 2021, when a Union missing key starters due to COVID lost at home in the Eastern Conference Final of the MLS 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs.
New York City FC
• Player Availability: Midfielder Maxi Moralez (ACL) and defender Rio Hope-Gund (leg) are unavailable. Defender Strahinja Tanasijević is suspended after the on-field confrontation following Saturday's win over Toronto.
• Who will be in the Starting XI is the million-dollar question. Head coach Nick Cushing went with a heavily rotated side against Toronto, and two of his surprise picks scored.
• James Sands is one caution away from a suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
• Expect an amped-up New York City to take the field. Not only did they win on the road for the first time this season last Saturday, the ugly scenes after likely galvanized the squad: There's nothing like a post-game brawl to build camaraderie.
Philadelphia Union
• Player Availability: Goalkeeper Andre Blake (knee), goalkeeper Holden Trent (finger), and defender Isaiah LeFlore (knee) are unavailable.
• Blake might be out, but defender Olivier Mbaizo is expected to return to the lineup.
• Damion Lowe and José Martínez are both one caution away from a suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
• There are lots of questions in this lineup. As Joe Lister of Philadelphia Soccer Now put it, "At this point in the season, the Union could sell just about everyone on the roster and nobody would care."
• But an attack with Julián Carranza and Dániel Gazdag is always dangerous, and 20-year-old Quinn Sullivan is one to watch.
• Itching to learn more about this Union squad? Read more of what Lister has to say in "Oppo Research: 5 Things about Philadelphia Union"
