A poor start to 2015 by the Philadelphia Union may set to deteriorate further if they can’t find a way to stop David Villa and his New York gladiators. The two teams will play for the first time in MLS History and the Union will be hoping that the opening chapter of this book is going to be better than the prequel!
Despite never playing, the Sons of Ben will recognise some familiar faces. Josh Saunders played for the LA Galaxy from 2010-2012 and David Villa has played at the very highest level of Football, winning the World Cup, the Champions League and La Liga over the course of his career. Anchorman Frank Lampard will join the side at the end of the Premier League season so luckily for the Union, it’s one less Champions League winner to worry about!
When it comes to a starting eleven, Philadelphia don’t look much stronger than last weeks outfit. Whilst US U23 star Zach Pfeffer is returning from suspension, Fred still has one more game to serve under his suspension. CJ Sapong returned last week, but the absence of Cristian Maidana, Eric Bird, Conor Casey, and Vincent Noguiera is a huge dent in the depth chart. Even more worryingly Fabinho hobbled off last weekend, but thankfully was not placed on the injury list.
There is a new number 1 in the net however, as the Union have tolerated just about enough of Rais M’bohli to warrant benching him and giving rookie John McCarthy a shot. It will be his MLS debut and the 22 year old spoke very positively about the prospect in a Twitter Q&A earlier this week.
.@PhiladelphiaSN enjoy the moment and make the best of my opportunity. DO whatever it takes to win. #AskJMac
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) April 9, 2015
It will be interesting to see how the keeper gets on. He has done the unthinkable so far after trying out for the team in an open try out five and a half years ago. At the age of 22 he’s playing for the team he loves and grew up watching. If he’s as good as he is passionate about his city then we may just have a new franchise keeper on our hands.
3 in for the win-
1. Do not let David Villa pick up steam.
Villa is a player of two playing styles. Either world class or completely contained. He was extremely quiet against Orlando but uncontainable against New England. It’s not just his brilliance in front of goal either. His unpredictable first touches will have even the greatest of defenders stunned. Cheeky flicks, spins and step overs are all equipped in this mans arsenal. It’s down to the Union back four to make sure they find the key to that arsenal and throw it away.
2. Break down the flanks, break often.
The main source of opportunity for the Union has been the pace of Andrew Wenger and creativity of Sebastian Le Toux. If the centre midfielders can find a way to constantly thread passes through that find the two illustrious wingers then the defence are going to have a real problem. Fernando Aristeguieta should have a slightly easier time against defenders in the air and has enough experience now to learn from his inconsistencies in previous week. Expect clinical shooting from the Union if the wingers can create the right chances.
3. Step up defensively
Defence hasn’t actually been that much of an issue that season..it also hasn’t been great. The problem now is that you have a rookie keeper. NYCFC will use that as bait to fire as many rocket shots at the 22 year old as possible until he cracks. If Jmac can show what he’s made of then he will establish himself as a goalkeeper and not a potential weakness. But the defence has to remove as much pressure as possible to make his job as easy as they can. Facing one of the most emphatic strikers in the league on your debut can be quite intimidating. The defense is the super glue that will hold this score line together. If that glue melts, you’re hoping that wood is strong enough on its own. There’s a lot of pressure on the D this weekend and if they can hold off NYCFC and give them limited shots on goal, providing there’s now M’Bohli moments, JMac should adapt very quickly.
Score prediction-
Expect both teams to score in this one, it’s going to be a very high tempo game with both teams looking to play down the wings. It’s destined to be a thriller as a rivalry will be ignited. I don’t think the elusive first win is coming this weekend though, but a solid point in a 2-2 draw could well be on the cards.
