\n Match Preview: D.C. United at Philadelphia Union | Saturday, April 18, 2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
D.C. United travels to Subaru Park this Saturday, April 18 for an Eastern Conference matchup against the Philadelphia Union in the club’s eighth match of the 2026 MLS season. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Black-and-Red\u00a0enter\u00a0the weekend with a 2-4-1 record and seven points, looking to pick up a result on the road after a difficult stretch that has included back-to-back defeats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wednesday night’s Open Cup\u00a0loss at Audi Field to\u00a0One Knoxville SC was a tough result, with the Black-and-Red\u00a0leading twice in extra time before being eliminated on penalty kicks. Head Coach Ren\u00e9 Weiler will look to use Saturday’s contest as an opportunity to reset and pick up what would be the club’s second away win of the season. The Black-and-Red showed defensive resolve in their 1-0 win over Philadelphia to open the season on February 21, limiting the Union to just one shot on target across\u00a090 minutes. \u00a0They\u00a0will\u00a0look to carry that same defensive discipline into Saturday’s rematch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Philadelphia\u00a0enter\u00a0the weekend in poor form, sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 1-6-0 record and just three points. The defending Supporters’ Shield holders have struggled to find consistency in 2026, conceding 12 goals across seven matches and going 0-3-0 at home at Subaru Park. Their lone win of the season came last Saturday, a 2-1 road victory against CF Montr\u00e9al, with goals from defender Japhet Larsen and midfielder Jesus Bueno ending a six-match winless run. Forward Milan\u00a0Iloski\u00a0leads the Union attack with 23 shots this season but has converted just one on target, a sign of the finishing struggles that have plagued Philadelphia through the early\u00a0portion\u00a0of the campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For D.C. United, the return to MLS action comes at\u00a0a good time. Forward Tai\u00a0Baribo, who missed Wednesday’s Open Cup match with injury, will be assessed ahead of the weekend\u00a0hoping to play against his former club. The Black-and-Red will look to build on the defensive structure that Head Coach Ren\u00e9 Weiler has\u00a0established\u00a0while looking to create more chances in the final third. \u00a0Midfielder Gabriel Pirani, who leads all current D.C. United players with 13 career shots against Philadelphia,\u00a0will look\u00a0to make an impact\u00a0moving forward and creating chances for the Black-and-Red to get a good result away from home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Saturday’s match marks the second and final\u00a0meeting\u00a0between the two clubs in the 2026 MLS regular season. D.C. United\u00a0hold\u00a0a 10-22-7\u00a0all-time record\u00a0against Philadelphia in regular season play but\u00a0enter\u00a0this fixture as the in-form side in the series, having won the most recent meeting 1-0 on February 21.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n By the Numbers:\u00a0<\/p>\n
D.C. United defeated Philadelphia Union 1-0 in the season home opener on February 21, with forward Tai\u00a0Baribo\u00a0scoring the lone goal in the 23rd minute.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Goalkeeper Sean Johnson has made 22 saves across seven appearances, posting\u00a0a 1.29 goals\u00a0against average and two shutouts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Philadelphia Union are 1-6-0 this season and 0-3-0 at home at Subaru Park\u00a0with\u00a0a \u20133\u00a0goal differential.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Forward Milan\u00a0Iloski\u00a0leads Philadelphia with 23 shots this season but has converted just one on target.<\/p>\n
\n Last Match Against Philadelphia Union | February 21,\u00a02026\u00a0at Audi Field\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the most recent meeting on February 21, 2026, D.C. United opened their 2026 MLS season with a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union at Audi Field. Forward Tai\u00a0Baribo\u00a0scored the only goal of the match in the 23rd minute,\u00a0assisted\u00a0by midfielder Jo\u00e3o Peglow, to give the Black-and-Red a winning start to the campaign.\u00a0Midfielder Matti Peltola anchored the midfield, recording 16 recoveries and winning six total duels. \u00a0Meanwhile,\u00a0goalkeeper Sean Johnson was\u00a0largely untroubled, facing just one shot on target across\u00a090 minutes\u00a0to record a clean sheet. D.C. United finished with seven shots to Philadelphia’s 13, but the Black-and-Red were clinical when it mattered most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n How to Watch\u00a0<\/p>\n
D.C. United fans can catch all the action of their favorite team on Apple TV. With this, you can watch every D.C. United match live, whether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0home or away, along with exclusive pre- and post-match coverage. Simply open the Apple TV app, navigate to MLS Season Pass, and enjoy the entire 2026 season. Whether\u00a0you’re\u00a0at home or on the go,\u00a0you’ll\u00a0have access to every match, ensuring you never miss a moment of D.C. United’s season. Enjoy seamless streaming on your Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and more!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Radio broadcasts will be available live on the iHeartRadio App and Freedom 104.7 FM. Legendary broadcaster Dave Johnson, who has called matches for D.C. United since the club\u2019s inception in 1996 will return to the booth alongside Bruce Murray, former United States National Team player (1985-1993, 85 caps and 21 goals) and Class of 2011 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee. The pair have partnered on radio calls since 2023 to deliver high-quality and passionate radio calls for fans. Supporters watching D.C. United MLS Regular Season matches on MLS Season Pass can opt to listen to Dave Johnson and Bruce Murray calling the match on the MLS Local Radio Broadcast channel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Match Preview: D.C. United at Philadelphia Union | Saturday, April 18, 2026\u00a0 D.C. United travels to Subaru Park…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[564,55328,139,69,71,70,75294],"class_list":{"0":"post-169387","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-featured","9":"tag-match-preview","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","13":"tag-philadelphia-news","14":"tag-phivsdc-04-18-2026"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}