Philadelphia Union Season Preview Part 2: The 2024 MLS Campaign

The Philadelphia Union begin their 2024 MLS campaign in just about a week and a half, as they will be taking on the new look Chicago Fire. The Philly Sports Network Union team will continue to preview the upcoming season, as today’s article will be covering the upcoming campaign for the Boys in Blue.

Union, USMNT — Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union

Philadelphia Union’s 2024 MLS Schedule

The Major League Soccer regular season has not changed at all from last season, so Philly supporters should know what to expect. Philadelphia will play 28 matches against Eastern Conference opponents (one home at Subaru Park, and one away). The club will then play against six opponents from the Western Conference, just as they did in the 2023 campaign. For this piece, we will break down the season into four parts (Matches 1-10, Matches 11-20, Matches 21-30, and Matches 31-34).

Early Road Tripping

Within their first ten matches of the season, the Union will have six matches on the road, with only four matches at Subaru Park. Three of these road matches will be against Western Conference opponents (Sporting Kansas City, Austin FC, and the Portland Timbers), while the other three will be against Eastern Conference opponents (Nashville SC, Atlanta United FC, and D.C. United).

Once again, the Union will have the Concacaf Champions Cup (CCC) to deal with in addition to these matches. The club will face off against Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa on February 20th for leg one and February 27th for the second leg. If the Union does move on to the Round of 16 in the tournament, leg one will occur between the dates of March 5th to March 7th, and leg two will occur between the dates of March 12th to March 14th.

Within their first ten matches, the Union will play four clubs who made the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. These four teams would be Sporting Kansas City, Seattle Sounders FC, Nashville SC, and Real Salt Lake. But no one should look at last year’s records to depend on how easy the schedule will be as a majority of the teams will look different due to new signings and even new managers. All in all, the multiple improvements made by most of the opening ten opponents will provide a test for the Union, but a team who is used to being in the top four in the East will look to start off strong.

Union, PSN — Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union

The Beginning of Midweek MLS Play

The second ten-match stretch of the season will see the Union begin MLS play on Wednesday nights, as the club will play three of their ten matches on Wednesdays. They will face off against New York City FC on May 15th, Toronto FC on May 29th, and FC Cincinnati on June 19th. In regards to home and away matches, the Union will play just over half of their matches at Subaru Park, hosting six matches throughout this ten-game stretch.

Something important to look out for in this stretch of matches is that two big international tournaments will be starting with the Copa América and the Euros. The Euros will be going on from June 14th to July 14th, while the Copa América will take place from June 20th to July 14th. The players who will be affected by these tournaments are going to be Daniel Gazdag, Andre Blake, Damion Lowe, José Martinez, and Jesús Bueno, as they all qualified for their respective nations.

This ten-game stretch will see the Union face off against four clubs who made the playoffs this past season (Orlando City, the New England Revolution, Charlotte FC, and FC Cincinnati). These four clubs will not be the only tough tests for the Union, as Inter Miami comes to town in the middle of June. In addition, Toronto, Montreal, and NYCFC always give the Union a tough test when facing off. With the international tournaments going on, the depth of the Union squad will definitely be tested, but Jim Curtin’s shorthanded side will show their will to fight.

Leagues Cup Time

The third stretch of matches for the 2024 MLS season will see a month-long break for the second edition of the Leagues Cup, which will take place from July 26 to August 25. During the Leagues Cup will also be the 2024 Olympics, where Nate Harriel and Jack McGlynn could leave the squad to play for the United States. But before the Leagues Cup begins, the Union will have five matches with three being at home, and two on the road. They will then play the final five matches of the stretch after the Leagues Cup, with three of the matches being on the road.

This ten-game stretch could very well be the most difficult stretch for the Union in the 2024 season, as they will be playing a bunch of high-quality opponents. They will be taking on a new look Chicago Fire for the second team, along with playing Inter Miami, the Columbus Crew, the New England Revolution, Nashville, and more. While only four of the clubs listed in this stretch made the playoffs last season, all clubs made massive improvements to their squad this offseason and will add to an already competitive Eastern Conference.

Will Jim Curtin’s side be able to fight through this tough test of matches along with the Leagues Cup? With the quality that the club has, the answer should be yes, but we will see how the season progresses.

The Final Four Matches

The last four matches of the regular season are some of the most important in the season, as they could determine playoff seeding, or more importantly, if a team even qualifies for the playoffs at all. The Union will finish their season against four Eastern Conference opponents, who they could be competing with in regards to playoff seeding.

In this important stretch, the Union will face off against three teams who made the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, as they will be facing off against Orlando City, the Columbus Crew, and FC Cincinnati. Two of the matches will be played on the road, while two of the matches will be played at Subaru Park. Being able to get three points against these teams late in the season could very well determine if the Union gets home-field advantage for the 2024 Playoffs.

All in all, the 2024 MLS season is right around the corner, and they will be looking to once again add a trophy to their trophy cabinet. Last season was not the season that Union fans were hoping for after the MLS Final run in 2022, but supporters will be hoping that 2024 will be a better year. As Jim Curtin stated, the Eastern Conference is definitely stronger than it has ever been, but with a squad like the Union has, a trophy is always possible.