5 Things to Watch Ahead of Philadelphia Union vs Charlotte FC

Union football is finally back after being away for a week because of the international break. The international break was great for fans of the USMNT as they qualified for the World Cup and Philly’s young stars like Quinn Sullivan, Jack McGlynn, and Paxten Aaronson all showed out for the US U20s. However, now it’s time for the Union senior team to get back underway and it’s a home game against MLS newcomers Charlotte FC. Here are 5 things to watch going into Saturday’s game.

5 Things to Watch

Union Frontline Firing on all Cylinders?

The Philadelphia Union invested heavily into their forward options during the offseason and four games into the season, we’ve not seen all four options at striker be available for a game. However, it seems like we’ve finally reached that stage after Mikael Uhre has been pictured back in training after a short muscle injury.

I’ve been very impressed with the way the Union has dealt with the constant swapping and changing up front, you’d want a stable partnership up top so the two forwards can build chemistry but Burke, Santos, and Carranza have all performed very well. I’d imagine the forward line will be Santos and Carranza for this game, with Uhre coming on and featuring for around 20-25 minutes depending on the scoreline and situation of the game.

Charlotte Still Figuring Things Out

I usually do a deep dive into the tactics of the Union’s opposition in these articles but Charlotte has thrown me a little bit of a curveball, they’ve played a different formation and system for every game they’ve played in so far this season. They’re averaging around 49.6% possession each game, with an xG of 5.3 and an xA of 4.4, meaning they’ve been creating chances and being creative with their team play rather than relying on one player to do all the work.

I’ve managed to watch a lot of Charlotte’s games so far this season and I’ve actually been really impressed with the way they’ve performed. I never expected much from the newcomers but they’ve played some great football at times and, in my opinion, have just been fairly unlucky in losing their first three games.

Daniel Gazdag is Thriving Right Now

Many Union fans heading into the season weren’t 100% sure about giving Gazdag the starting 10 role with Jamiro Monteiro still in the squad and were then upset with the fact the Union decided to sell Miro to San Jose. However, Gazdag has been proving everyone wrong and the Union front office right since the start of the season.

I’ve always seen Gazdag as the Union’s starting CAM, and I was expecting Miro to be moved back into a more six role, the likes of which Bedoya and Leon Flach are playing right now. Gazdag just has that poise and composure about him that you see from the top CAMs in the world and he can do everything to a very good standard.

He’s been really involved with the two strikers and played that supporting role really well this season, constantly been pressing up the pitch with the forwards, giving the forwards the service they each need, and then been finding the space in the box to score a few goals for himself. His entire game right now is on fire and I don’t see him settling down anytime soon.

Philadelphia Union Preview: CLT coming up under the CBB

Nathan Harriel is a Star in the Making

Another Union player that has really impressed since coming into the starting XI is right back Nathan Harriel. After replacing Mbaizo after the opening game, Harriel has been on a meteoric rise for the Union and has displayed that there’s a star player in the making.

Harriel has really impressed me with his play in both areas of the pitch. Going forward he hasn’t got the freedom left-back Kai Wagner does because of having Alejandro Bedoya playing on his side, but he’s playing his role perfectly, playing smart passes to start the attacks and has been staying back to allow Bedoya the freedom of moving forward and joining the attack.

Defensively, Harriel has been outstanding. He leads the team in interceptions with 12, is 2^nd in the team for tackles and interceptions with 20, 3^rd for clearances with 12, 2^nd in blocks with 11, and overall, has been very active with his pressing in both the defensive third and midfield third. If he keeps these performances up and consistent, the Union have a true star on their hands.

Taking it Day by Day; a conversation with Union Homegrown Nate Harriel

Charlotte’s Star Men

Like I said earlier, Charlotte has impressed me a lot since the start of the season and I was kind of bummed out when they sold Riley McGree during the winter period as he’d been playing well for the team I support, Birmingham City, and was happy that I would get to watch him shine in the MLS. However, Charlotte has proved me wrong and they have three very good players that the Union needs to prepare for.

The first one is a pretty obvious one and that’s Polish striker Karol Swiderski. Swiderski has been on fire lately for both club and country, and whilst he didn’t join his national side this window in a very controversial manner, he’s been banging in the goals and been the main key for the Charlotte team. Swiderski has scored some amazing goals so far and his overall play has been great but his leadership on the field has really stood out to me, he’s constantly trying to get his teammates riled up for the game. Elliot and Glesnes will have their hands full here.

The second one is a wunderkind Charlotte has and that’s midfielder Ben Bender. Played five games, started three, and already has one goal and three assists. Bender has been a real star for Charlotte and a real driving force for linking the defense and offense together. He and Swiderski have formed a really good partnership over the course of the first five games and Martinez will have to keep a close eye on Bender if the Union are to come out of this game victorious.

The final player I wanted to point out is Croatian goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. Whilst the scorelines won’t help with the casual look at Kahlina, in a goalkeepers evaluation the scoreline never tells the full story, Kahlina is averaging over four saves a game so far and really isn’t getting much help from his back four but he’s been making some world-class saves and overall, played extremely well. He’s impressed me a lot as a former goalkeeper myself and not many MLS keepers have done that so far. Whoever starts up top for the Union will have a hard time scoring past Kahlina if his previous performances are a sign of what’s to come.