Matchday 12 preview: Union look to elevate hopes on the road against Colorado

Tuesday night’s PK loss in the US Open Cup against Minnesota United was another hard pill for Union fans to swallow. It’s another opportunity for Union to get their hands on some silverware out the window. And of course, it comes exactly one week after the Union crashed out of the CONCACAF Champions League Semi-Finals against LAFC. And while the team being bounced from two competitions in a seven-day span is far from the anticipated outcome, maybe being able to focus solely on MLS play for a bit will benefit the blue and gold. Union has been busy, to say the least.

Union at Rapids Preview

Since April 1st, they’ve played a total of 11 games, traveled a total of 17,874 miles, and changed time zones a total of 11 times. Though they did their best to prep for this fixture congestion in the off-season, Union have struggled to string together consistent performances which has them in the current position they’re in – Knocked out of the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League while sitting at 7th place in the east on 14 points, 10 points behind first place.

On Saturday night, Union will travel to Colorado Rapids with hopes that they can put all their focus into MLS play, find some consistency in their form, and start chipping away at that lead for first place.

2023 MLS Season

Colorado’s start to the 2023 campaign has been a bit rocky, no pun intended. They currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference on a total of 12 points, sitting eight back from conference leaders LAFC. What was surprising to me is Colorado’s lack of success at home this season. Through four home games this season, the Rapids have no wins, three draws, and a loss for a total of three points taken at home. Typically traveling and dealing with the altitude in Colorado cause visiting teams to have a hard time adjusting to the conditions and finding their footing – or maybe I should say breath in this case.

Offensively, Colorado has struggled to put goals in the back of the net, currently sitting at fifth worst in the league with just 9 goals through 11 games. It’s not for lack of effort though, as Rapids rank highly across the league in stats like expected goals, non-penalty expected goals, shots on target, shots on target percentage, and shots on target per 90 minutes.

But again, they’ve had trouble cashing those chances in for actual goals. Just two players in Colorado have scored more than 1 goal, with Michael Barrios and LA Galaxy throwing away Kevin Cabral both having two apiece through 11 games, and Connor Ronan leads the Rapids with four assists.

Defensively speaking, Colorado definitely has some holes that are covered up by the play of Goalkeeper William Yarbrough. Sitting relatively high in total shots allowed, William Yarbrough sits 4th in the league in total saves and has Colorado sitting right in the middle of the pack in goals allowed. He’s definitely helped keep Colorado afloat this season.

X-Factor

Colorado’s X-factor for me is going to be William Yarbrough. Yarbrough is a great keeper in MLS, and maybe one that doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves playing with Colorado, but Yarbrough really does have the ability to steal games for this team. With a save percentage of 78.4% while facing the 4th most shots in the league., Yarbrough can frustrate even the best of attacks while already struggling to deal with the altitude. Union’s attack is going to have to be clinical if they want to capitalize on their opportunities against the Rapids.

For the Union, I think the X-Factor is going to be Daniel Gazdag. Gazdag is an important piece to breaking down the defense of opponents and is second in goals scored for the Union this year in MLS with 4, despite not having scored from the run of play yet. With 22 goals scored in MLS last season, we know the quality and threat that Daniel Gazdag possesses, but I don’t think we’ve seen him anywhere near his best this season.

I’m looking at Gazdag to lead by example in the first game where Union’s full focus can be on MLS. I don’t have any official stats on this, but I’d be willing to bet that when Daniel Gazdag scores, Union wins more often than not. So just going off pure vibes on this one, I’m pulling for Gazdag to put the team on his back this weekend.

Predictions

With all other competitions out of the way, I think we’re going to see Union back to their strongest lineup – which is almost back to full strength. The union will have their entire roster available to them, but Jose Martinez is still coming back from his hamstring injury and isn’t fit enough to start yet, I’d expect him to play a role off the bench. Other than that, I’d expect the starting XI we’ve seen this season. Uhre and Carranza up top, Gazdag at the 10, McGlynn and Bedoya as shuttlers in the midfield. Andre Black will surely be in goal, with Kai Wagner, and likely Glesnes, Elliott, and Mbaizo in front of him.

The one question mark is who will replace Jose Martinez in the starting lineup. In all likelihood, it’ll probably be Leon Flach, but I thought Jesus Bueno’s performance in the Open Cup against Minnesota was really positive, and I really like the energy and aggression brings to the lineup. It feels like he isn’t afraid to confront the ball carrier and goes in for the tackle so confidently for a young player. I don’t think it’s going to be an easy one for Union, it’s probably going to be a game they need to grind out and get something to go their way.

I’d like to think the defense can keep this low-powered attack to a clean sheet, but time and time again this defense has just had too many lapses. This should be a game Union win. It really should be. They have to shake the negativity and find their game. Union grinds out a 1-0 win. Don’t miss the action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV at 9:30 pm est.