Philadelphia Union look for big road victory in Vancouver in Supporters' Shield Race this weekend

After a 10-man Union pulled out a narrow 1-0 victory on the road against FC Cincinnati, the Philadelphia Union returned from the international break full of confidence and motivation to finish the season out strong. Multiple chances at silverware are still within the team's reach. Up next, a match that could play a big part in who lifts the Supporters' Shield trophy come October 18th, as the Philadelphia Union travel to BC Place to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps, who sit just eight points behind the Union with five games to go. "It's a tough nut to crack, but it's an exciting challenge coming up against a really good player like Thomas Müller, he's a World Star for these guys, but we want to forget the name on the back of the jersey for a change and focus on our crest and not worry too much about the opponent" - Bradley Carnell.

How to watch Union vs Vancouver Whitecaps When: Saturday, September 13th @ 9:35 pmWhere: BC Place – Vancouver, BCWhere to Watch: MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+ Philadelphia Union vs Vancouver Whitecaps Betting Odds Philadelphia Union: +220Vancouver Whitecaps: +110Draw: +235 Preview By The Numbers

Current Record	Philadelphia Union: 17W-6D-6L, 1st in East	Vancouver Whitecaps: 14W-7D-6L, 3rd in West
Current Form – Last 5 MLS Games	Philadelphia Union: D, W, L, W, W	Vancouver Whitecaps: W, L, D, D, W
Expected Goals:	Philadelphia: 59.26 xG (1st best)	Vancouver Whitecaps: 57.83 xG (4th best)
Total Goals Scored:	Philadelphia Union: 49 goals scored (T-3rd best)	Vancouver Whitecaps: 47 goals scored (5th best)
Expected Conceded Goals:	Philadelphia: 30.9 xGA (2nd best)	Vancouver Whitecaps: 31.2 xGA (3rd best)
Goals Conceded:	Philadelphia Union: 26 goals conceded (1st best)	Vancouver Whitecaps: 31 goals conceded (2nd best)
Top Goal-Scorers:	Philadelphia: Baribo – 16Damiani – 5Uhre – 4	Vancouver Whitecaps: B. White – 14Sabbi – 5Vite – 4
Top Assists Leaders:	Philadelphia Union: Wagner – 10Q. Sullivan – 9Uhre, Westfield, Vassilev – 4	Vancouver Whitecaps: Berhalter, Vita, Ngando – 6Nelson, Ahmed – 5Rios, Priso – 4

Head to Head In 10 matches between the Philadelphia Union and Vancouver Whitecaps dating back to 2011, the two teams have a split record of three wins, three losses, and four draws each. Across those 10 games, the Union have a very slight goal advantage, outscoring the Whitecaps by 12-11 all-time. Borek Dockal (PHL), Conor Casey (PHL), and Pedro Morales (VAN) are tied for the most goals in the matchup with two. Union's last five games vs Vancouver: D, W, D, L, L "They're a really good team, we saw them in pre-season in Spain, we shared the field just across the way from them and you could see then, although the coach had just come in for his first few days, very structured, very organized, he knew exactly what he wanted." - Bradley Carnell.

Whitecaps Season So Far The Whitecaps come into Saturday's bout with Philadelphia in third place in the Western Conference and eight points behind the Supporters' Shield-leading Union, making Saturday night's game a big game for both teams. The Whitecaps started life under new manager Jesper Sørensen red hot, losing just once through the first 16 games of the MLS season. During that span, they had a record of 10W-5D-1L and outscored their opponents by 30 to 12. The Whitecaps collected eight clean sheets across those matches. Since then, the Whitecaps have stumbled a little, going 4W-2D-5L in the following 11 games. During that span, the Whitecaps were outscored 20-16 and recorded three clean sheets. "They've stayed consistent throughout, and that's a credit to Jesper and his coaching team. They're an exciting team, they can catch you in many ways, they're aggressive...they can be really lethal in transition, and then they can find ways to break you down with Berhalter" - Bradley Carnell.

Predicted Starting XI As players return from International duty and rejoin the squad before heading out to Vancouver, Bradley Carnell met with the media to preview Saturday's big match, but didn't offer much regarding tipping who will be in his starting XI. Olwethu Makhanya will miss out on Saturday night in Vancouver due to his red card during the win against Cincinnati before the international break. Andre Blake, who has been sidelined with an injury he picked up against the Red Bulls on August 16th, has rejoined the group in training this week and had a high-intensity session on Thursday, per Bradley Carnell. I'm not sure he's quite ready to start on Saturday night, but it sounds like he's not far from being back in the lineup. " started training with us this week, he had two good days of training; today was probably his most intense day yet, so I'll have a catch-up with Phil Whedon, who has just got back in from training now, but he ended the training in good spirits and no problems" - Bradley Carnell Predicted XI: Formation: 4-2-2-2 GK: RickRB: Westfield, CB: Harriel, CB: Glesnes, LB: WagnerCDM: Danely, CDM: LukicCAM: Q. Sullivan, CAM: IloskiST: Uhre, ST: Damiani

Supporters' Shield Race Update The Union got a big win on the road against FC Cincinnati just before the international break, which put some distance between the two teams at the top of the Eastern Conference, but San Diego FC's big road victory against LAFC puts the expansion side just one point behind the Union with just five games to go in the Shield race. Truthfully, any of these teams is still in the race with a win and a Union loss or draw on Saturday night. So, while the old mantra of "win at home, draw on the road" usually leads to success, I wouldn't be surprised to see Bradley Carnell and the Union look for their chance to pounce and grab all three points on the road this weekend.

"It's 3 points on the line, and we've done a lot this season where we've gone in and been really challenged in the month of May and that'll be one of the months of my career...there's a bunch of games that I can remember on the road where we were just magnificent - sticking together as a group, grinding out, staying together, committing to each other, and I think that's the only way to survive on the road, especially in Vancouver." - Bradley Carnell Of course, it's worth noting that while Inter Miami are currently 11 points off the Supporters' Shield lead, Messi and his buddies (minus a suspended Luis Suarez) still have nine games and 27 points left on the board in the MLS season, and can't be counted out just yet.

Place	Team	Points	Games Played	Goal Differential
1st	Philadelphia Union	57 pts	29 GP	+23
2nd	San Diego FC	56 pts	29 GP	+20
3rd	FC Cincinnati	52 pts	29 GP	+6
4th	Minnesota United FC	51 pts	29 GP	+16
5th	Charlotte FC	50 pts	29 GP	+8
6th	Nashville SC	50 pts	29 GP	+16
7th	Vancouver Whitecaps	49 pts	29GP	+16
8th	Orlando City SC	47 pts	29 GP	+14
9th	Inter Miami	46 pts	25 GP	+14
10th	Columbus Crew	46 pts	28 GP	+4

Be sure to return to Philly Sports Network for more Philadelphia Union and other soccer content! Follow our Union team on Twitter: Tim Lovenguth | Jimmy King | Nate TennesenSteve Beavon | Eric Frysinger | Paul FrenzelTomiwa Aderinoye | Christopher Babos | Liam Jenkins Doop on Union fans!