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Sports Mole previews Sunday’s MLS playoff clash between Philadelphia Union and Chicago Fire, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
The MLS post-season takes another step towards the end goal when the Philadelphia Union host the Chicago Fire in their first Best of Three Series match on October 26.
The Supporters’ Shield winners are going into round one of the playoffs in high spirits, hoping to go one better and win the MLS Cup for the first time in their history.
Match preview
Not many pundits and fans rated the Philadelphia Union at the start of the season, partly due to the fact that Bradley Carnell jumped into the head coaching hot seat.
The South African has done a commendable job at the club, leading them to first place in the East and bagging a nomination for the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year award.
Additionally, the hosts can now boast winning the second-most points in the regular season in the history of football in the USA.
The Union should fancy their chances ahead of this first encounter with Chicago, because they only suffered defeat once at their Subaru Park home base across 17 league fixtures.
Carnell’s charges took a liking to the visitors, beating them both home and away during the regular season, with an aggregate of 5-0.
The coach has built his team on a solid defence, evident in the fact that nobody has conceded fewer than their 35 goals this season.
The Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter will be concerned that his side could not pierce the home defence on two occasions last term, but because his team scored 68 goals – the second-best record in the league – he will be confident that they can get some joy on Sunday.
Chicago have reached the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and they extended their unbeaten run to six games on the bounce, when they beat Orlando City 3-1 in the Wild Card match.
Interestingly, that was their first-ever win in the MLS playoffs since 2009, but the Fire will be hoping to replicate their 1998 team that went on to win their only MLS Cup to date.
One win in their last seven against Philadelphia does not inspire, so they may be up against it in this first fixture, especially after losing four times in that run of head-to-heads.
The primary issue for Berhalter is his team’s defensive resilience, as they conceded a total of 60 goals in the regular season, the most from any of the teams in the postseason.
Philadelphia Union MLS form:
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Chicago Fire MLS form:
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Team News
The Union have a few injury concerns ahead of this match, including Quinn Sullivan (cruciate ligament), Jeremy Rafanello (hamstring) and Ian Glavinovich (knee).
Carnell will depend on his centre-half pairing of Jakob Glesnes and Olwethu Makhanya, considering their incredible defensive record.
At the other end of the pitch, the usual suspect, Tai Boribo, has led the line with aplomb and notched up 17 goals in his 32 appearances for the club.
Meanwhile, the trio of Jovan Lukic, Indiana Vassilev and Danley Jean Jacques have largely been indispensable in midfield.
Berhalter has a slightly longer injury list with Andre Franco, Leonardo Barroso, Viktor Radojevic and Chris Mueller all guaranteed to miss the trip to Philly.
MLS Newcomer of the Year contender Philip Zinckernagel will be crucial for the Fire’s attacking threat, as he has 16 goals to his name along with 13 assists.
Hugo Cuypers will be the man they all try to feed, as the striker smashed 21 goals in his 37 appearances, including a brace during the week to set this tie up for his team.
Meanwhile, hometown hero Brian Gutierrez has been influential for the visitors, netting 11 goals throughout the season.
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Harriel, Glesnes, Makhanya, Wagner; Bedoya, Jean Jacques, Lukic, Vassilev; Uhre, Boribo
Chicago Fire possible starting lineup:
Brady; Dean, Waterman, Elliott, Gutman; Kouame, D’Avilla, Gutierrez; Zinckernagel, Cuypers, Bamba
We say: Philadelphia Union 2-1 Chicago Fire
The home side are undefeated against Chicago Fire in their last 10 head-to-heads at this venue, winning eight in that run of games.
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