Your Philadelphia Union Bye-Week MLS Watching Guide

Today is the 10th week of MLS action this season. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia Union is off this week, but that doesn’t mean that Union fans don’t have MLS matches to watch. While Philly isn’t playing, some matches have implications on their place in the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings. Here’s your Union Bye-Week MLS Watching Guide!

Union, MLS — Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union

A tiered guide of Bye-week matches for Union fans

For those fans who are looking for some MLS to watch this weekend that can affect their own team, here’s a tiered list of matches to watch based on importance.

Tier one – Must watch matches

Tier one matches are the ones that are essential for Union fans to pay attention to this weekend. These ones will directly impact the teams closest to Philly in the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings. Here are the seven must-watch matches this weekend in MLS!

Atlanta vs Cincinnati | Saturday, 4/20 | 7:30 pm EST
Columbus vs Portland | Saturday, 4/20 | 7:30 pm EST
Miami vs Nashville | Saturday, 4/20 | 7:30 pm EST
LAFC vs New York | Saturday, 4/20 | 10:30 pm EST
Seattle vs Vancouver | Saturday, 4/20 | 10:30 pm EST
Charlotte vs Minnesota | Sunday, 4/21 | 6:00 pm EST
Los Angeles vs San Jose | Sunday, 4/21 | 8:15 pm EST

Atlanta and Cincinnati face off in a match after both teams fell short last week. A win for either team would see them move past Philly; all fans will want to hope for a draw in this match. Columbus and Portland meet in a 2015 MLS Cup rematch. A Columbus win would see them pass Philadelphia; let’s hope for a Portland win.

Miami is on top of the Shield Standings and the East; Nashville sits in second to last in the East. Philly will hope the Lagues Cup final rematch goes the way of Nashville for the standings outlook. Saturday night rounds out with some heavyweights fighting to go top of the league. Can Red Bulls move to the top, or will LAFC progress in the west? Union fans will want an LAFC win. A Western Conference clash between struggling Seattle and high-flying Vancouver will have Philly fans hoping for the Cascadia clash to end with a Sounders W.

The must-watch matches continue onto Sunday. Charlotte FC and Minnesota United face off; both are on 11 points and both could move past the Union in the League standings. A draw would be the best result for Philly! LA Galaxy is at the top of the west, San Jose is at the bottom. Let’s hope for some Cali-Classico chaos and a San Jose win for the Union’s standings hopes.

Tier Two – Could Impact the Union’s Overall Standings

Tier two are matches that are important for the Union’s overall standing, but these matches are not labeled as “must watch.” In these seven matches, there could be movement up and down both the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield, but it wouldn’t see many of these teams pass the Union.

Toronto vs New England | Saturday, 4/20 | 7:30 pm EST
NYCFC vs DC | Saturday, 4/20 | 7:30 pm EST
Montreal vs Orlando | Saturday, 4/20 | 7:30 pm EST
Houston vs Austin | Saturday, 4/20 | 8:30 pm EST
Kansas City vs St. Louis | Saturday, 4/20 | 8:30 pm EST
Chicago vs Salt Lake | Saturday, 4/20 | 8:30 pm EST
Colorado vs Dallas | Saturday, 4/20 | 9:30 pm EST

Toronto sits in ninth, while New England sits in last place in the east. Neither team can pass Philly with a win, but still, to shake things up in the east it would be fun to see a Revs win here. NYCFC and DC are likely going to be players for a playoff spot in the east. However, right now they are not in a spot to move too far up the standing; A draw would do Philly well here. Montreal and Orlando are also likely players in the topsy-turvy East; another draw would be great for the Union, but a win for either wouldn’t hurt them right now.

Houston and Austin renew their Texas-sized rivalry out west. A win for Houston would take them past Philly in the Supporter’s Shield standings, but this rivalry has shown it takes a lot of teams. Philly will be hoping for an Austin win. Kansas City and St. Louis face off in another Western Conference clash A win for either would see them tie or move past Philly in the Shield standings, so a draw would be ideal!

Chicago and Real Salt Lake face off tonight, Chicago started kind of hot but has fallen off lately. RSL is looking to go top of the west and move past Philly in the Shield standings. It may be weird, but Philly will want this East-West matchup to go the way of the Eastern Conference team! Colorado and Dallas are on opposite ends of the standings right now. A win will take Colorado toward the top of the West, and past Philly in the Shield Standings. We may always hate Dallas, but tonight we will want them to get a big W.

Union, Union II — Mandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union II

A Union Bye-Week best-case scenario results cheat sheet

The 14 MLS matches show must-watch games and others that could affect the Union’s overall standings. Because of that the results of all matches on Philly’s bye week will play some kind of role for the team. Here’s a cheat sheet on the best-case scenario results for the Union!

Atlanta vs Cincinnati | DRAW
Columbus vs Portland | PORTLAND WIN
Miami vs Nashville | NASHVILLE WIN
Toronto vs New England | NEW ENGLAND WIN
NYCFC vs DC | DRAW
Montreal vs Orlando | DRAW
Chicago vs Salt Lake | CHICAGO WIN
Houston vs Austin | AUSTIN WIN
Kansas City vs St. Louis | DRAW
Colorado vs Dallas | DALLAS WIN
LAFC vs New York | LAFC WIN
Seattle vs Vancouver | SEATTLE WIN
Charlotte vs Minnesota | DRAW
Los Angeles vs San Jose | SAN JOSE WIN

The Philadelphia Union will be in a unique place thanks to this bye. Even with the rescheduled Seattle match being played in the next few weeks, Philly will have at least a game in hand on most of the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield contenders. While these best-case scenario results are likely a 4/20 fever dream, If these results should come to pass, the Union would be a win away from going top of the league. Here’s to hoping this all comes true!