Union II Faces First Roadtrip of 2024 as They Take On Chicago Fire II

Union II has started their 2024 MLS Next Pro season off perfectly, with the team collecting 2 wins from 2 games, both at home and both being 2-1 comeback wins. It’s also been a busy start to the season for a lot of the offseason signings and academy call-ups, with Marlon LeBlanc handing out 6 debuts alone last weekend against New England, with many new faces being added to the subs bench as well.

Union II, Cavan sullivan — Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union II

Union II @ Fire II Preview

Marlon LeBlanc’s side takes on their first road trip of the season on Thursday, as they travel to the Windy City to face Chicago FC II. Philly is currently atop the Eastern Conference standings and was recently ranked in 3^rd place in the MLS Next Pro Power Rankings.

Chicago has started the season just like Philly, with a 100% record in their 2 games so far, winning their solo MLS Next Pro game through a penalty shootout against FC Cincinnati 2. Their other win for the season came in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where they beat local team Chicago City SC 6-0 to progress to the next round. Chicago will be looking to continue their winning ways against Philly in this one.

Union II Lineup decisions

Marlon LeBlanc faces some tough lineup dilemmas heading into this game. He was without both David Vazquez and Neil Pierre for last weekend’s clash with New England, as the pair were called up to the US U19’s squad, and it looks like they may miss this one too, given they only played on Tuesday in Morocco.

LeBlanc managed to cover the losses of both Vazquez and Pierre by calling up several academy stars, the likes of Cavan Sullivan and Gavin Wetzel included in that group. However, Union’s academy faces a busy schedule with the Generation Adidas Cup starting on Saturday and both Union’s U17’s and Union’s U15’s squads will be involved, so the like of Sullivan and his teammates will likely be missing from this game too.

What Cavan Sullivan’s cemented move to Manchester City means for the Philadelphia Union

Union II will still have their frontline duo available for selection and LeBlanc will be happy to hear as they have both started the season off in fine form. Eddy Davis scored on his debut in the opening game against Toronto FC II and Sal Olivas scored his first goal for the team last weekend, in the late winner with a phenomenal finish. Both will be looking to continue their goalscoring ways before a 14-day break for LeBlanc’s side before they play their next game.

How to watch

The match kicks off at 7 pm EST and can be watched on Apple TV through an MLS Season Pass subscription. The overall record between these two sides is 1 win each and 2 draws in 4 previous meetings, the last meeting back in June 2023 saw Chicago comprehensively beat Philly 5-2, so I’m sure Marlon LeBlanc and his players will be looking to avenge that heavy loss.