Union set to resume their previously postponed match vs Seattle Sounders tonight at 7:30 pm

The Philadelphia Union lost their first match of the 2024 MLS season just three days ago. They’ll have to have a short memory and focus on the task ahead of them as they take on a struggling Seattle Sounders team. These two sides were scheduled to face off earlier in the season, on March 9th; but a rainstorm postponed the game after only five minutes of play. The resumption is tonight at 7:30 pm EST at Subaru Park!

Union vs Seattle Preview Part 2

Union vs Seattle will resume play tonight with 5:28 on the clock. The Union had just won a free kick before the game was suspended; so the game will start from that free kick! Now, after almost two months of playing matches in MLS play, these two teams will continue their previously suspended match.

If you’d like to see where these teams were way back on March 9th, here’s our preview from that match written by Jimmy King:

Match Preview: Union seeks first win of MLS season against injury-ridden Seattle Sounders

Back in March, Seattle was dealing with major injuries, and the Union was in the midst of a Concacaf Champions Cup tie between Pachuca. Philly rotated a majority of their team to get ready for their CCC match. Here was the starting Lineup for Philly:

Blake;
Harriel, Elliot, Lowe, Mbaizo;
Martinez,
Bueno, Sullivan,
Gazdag;
Anderson, Uhre.

Subs: Semmle; Real, Glesnes, Wagner; Bedoya, Rafanello, McGlynn; Donovan, Baribo.

This lineup has a good amount of bench players in starting spots. So how will Philly deal with this in this resumed match? The only way some players can be swapped out is due to injury, and if the players were available on the roster back on March 9th. According to the injury report, Markus Anderson is out tonight, and Andre Blake and Damion Lowe are questionable.

If all three of those players cannot play, Oliver Semmle will replace Blake, and Jakob Glesnes will replace Lowe as they were on the bench the night of the original game date. For Anderson, Jim Curtin will need to decide if he wants to play one of his forwards from the bench of that original matchup (Donovan or Baribo) or play Jullian Carranza from the start. Carranza is taking Matt Real’s spot in the 20, as Real has been loaned out, so he could be called upon to play.

Seattle is dealing with a plethora of problems in terms of their squad too. They’ve dealt with injuries all year and their poor form has left a lot of their players on the pitch frustrated and it’s shown in their play.

Seattle has struggled mightily all season

Seattle is thought of as a top team in MLS, and they have been for many years. This year is not one of them so far. After nine matches, they have just one win, three draws, and five losses. Ahead of the original match date, Seattle had one draw and one loss, and since then has one win, two draws, and four losses. They have just six points on the season, and sit 13th in the west and 27th out of all 29 MLS teams.

It’s been a major struggle for Seattle, and the frustrations are boiling over. Media in Seattle are starting to ask the question of whether club legend coach Brian Schmetzer should be on the hot seat ahead of the team’s 10th match of the year. The players are frustrated as well, this can be seen in their last two losses. In their 2-0 loss to Vancouver two weeks ago, Alex Roldan and Jackson Ragen picked up red cards.

In their match last week at DC United, Seattle went up early in the 14th minute. Then their goalkeeper, Stefan Frei picked up a red card, and DC scored twice before halftime to take all three points. Now, Seattle has to stay on the East Coast for a midweek matchup to deal with. They desperately need a win, but Philly coming off a loss at home will not likely be easily beaten.

Union has the chance to right their wrongs from last Saturday

Philly does not lose at home often, but when they do, club legend and Captain Alejandro Bedoya has some harsh words for the effort that’s put forth. This is exactly what happened after Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake…

Union captain Alejandro Bedoya had stern words about his team’s loss tonight — including some about his teammates:https://t.co/ulriTiyGj9 pic.twitter.com/SQTkVCwvgM
— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) April 28, 2024

Bedoya knows how good this Union team is, and after a last-minute loss, he is speaking to the media trying to light a fire under his team. I’d expect to see the Union come out firing on all cylinders against a struggling Seattle team after seeing this quote.

It’s almost a blessing in disguise that this team is not able to dwell more on their missed chances from last Saturday. The Union have to be out on the field in front of their home crowd just three days after a loss that is just their fifth loss at home in three and a half years. Philly should be fired up for this game and chomping at the bit to produce their first beatdown of the year on lowly Seattle.

While nothing is ever straightforward in MLS, this is a huge opportunity for Philly. The RSL loss is a setback, but with this Seattle match tonight, and an away match against rivals DC this weekend, the Union has the chance at six more points. Getting those points would see Philly sit on 19 points from 10 MLS matches played. They’d rise up the standings in the eastern conference and put themselves in the Supporters’ Shield race.

We’ll see how the Union responds tonight, but I have the feeling that this matchup against Seattle starts another unbeaten streak; with six of the next 10 matches being home games for Philly! Put me down for a 3-0 Union win with goals from Carranza, Gazdag, and Sullivan.