Philadelphia Union prepare for early Supporters Shield clash with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami: "I think we've proven over 5 games now that we can be competitive"
"I think we've proven over 5 games now that we can be competitive, we can be versatile in the way we try to break things down, it's not necessarily just with the press, so we're excited about the challenge." - Philadelphia Union Head Coach, Bradley Carnell With a shorthanded squad, the Philadelphia Union took care of business last Saturday night against Bradley Carnell's former side in a 1-0 statement win against St Louis City SC, thanks to a headed goal by Center-Back Ian Glavinovich. The victory moves Union to 4-0-1 with 12 points on the season and top of the League after Matchday 5. It sets up an early Supporters Shield clash between the Blue and Gold and Messi’s Inter Miami in South Florida this weekend. Image Credit: Philadelphia Union
How to watch Union vs Inter Miami When: Saturday, March 29th @ 7:30 pmWhere: Chase Stadium - Ft Lauderdale, FLWhere to Watch: MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+ Philadelphia Union vs Inter Miami Betting Odds Inter Miami: -170Philadelphia Union: +350Draw: +340Image Credit: Philadelphia Union
Preview By The Numbers
Inter Miami: Suárez - 3, Messi, Alba - 2, Busquets, Segovia, Cremaschi - 1
Image Credit: Philadelphia Union
Head To Head In matches across all competitions, Union and Inter Miami have met 11 times. Union's record in those meetings is 4W-2D-5L, with a goal differential of 16GF and 17GA. In their previous five meetings, Union has beaten Miami just once (June 23rd, 2024) and has been outscored by Miami by 12 to 7 in those four losses. "You can look at all the data, you can look at games, but when they're in the game they're serial winners, that's what they are. They have a mentally in the group that they can step up to any game model, what you present to them. If they have to press, they'll press, if they have to chase, they'll chase, if they have to do something that they don't usually do, they can do it and even more so under Mascherano. Very impressive group." -Bradley Carnell on Inter Miami's mentality Sep 14, 2024; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi (10) plays the ball defended by Philadelphia Union midfielder Leon Flach (31) in the first half at Chase Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-Imagn Images
Miami's Season So Far After setting the MLS points record in 2024, only to lose to Atlanta United in the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs, Inter Miami knew they were going to have big expectations coming into the 2025 season, and somehow, they look even stronger than they did last season. Across all competitions, Inter Miami is undefeated (7W-1D-0L) through 8 games after beating Sporting Kansas City and Jamaica's Cavalier SC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, outscoring their opponents by 17-6. Other than Sporting Kansas City in Inter Miami's opening game of the season, no team has been able to score more than once against the Herons so far in the 2025 season. Mar 2, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Luis Suarez (9) celebrates after scoring a goal during the second half against Houston Dynamo FC at Shell Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Inter Miami Predicted Starting XI Due to a low-grade adductor injury from March 15th, Lionel Messi didn't play with Argentina over the International window, but will reportedly be back in the squad against the Union on Saturday night. Tadeo Allende, who has started off 2025 brightly for Inter Miami, has been ruled out of Saturday’s showdown. Whether Messi starts or not, Inter Miami still has a number of threatening players in the attack, both young and experienced, that Union’s defense will have to keep an eye on Saturday night. "They might give up something to gain so many things when Messi is on the field, but when he's off the field they just have a lot of youth exuberance, energy, and that's really tough to contain as well. We just have to prepare for what we can." - Bradley Carnell on Inter Miami's depthGK: UstariDefense: Lujan, Aviles, Allen, AlbaMidfield: Busquets, Bright, Segovia, CremaschiForward: Suárez, MessiMandatory Credit: Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia Union Predicted Starting XI Bradley Carnell has some decisions to make after rotating his squad for the first time and getting a win last weekend against St Louis, but the Head Coach says he's happy to be in that position and to have competition within the squad. Andre Blake, who looked to have suffered a slight injury while away on International Duty, should be ready to go for Saturday's clash against Miami. No other names were cited by Bradley Carnell as missing for this weekend's match. "He extended himself; he knew what he had to do for his country, and we're proud of him for doing what he did and helping his team qualify for the Gold Cup.He's doing okay, we feel he should be ready to go. We're just monitoring it day-by-day, but we feel in a good space that he should be good to go".-Bradley Carnell on Andre Blake Formation: 4-2-2-2 GK: Andre BlakeRW: Nate Harriel, CB: Ian Glavinovich, CB: Jakob Glesnes, LB: Kai WagnerCDM: Danley Jean-Jacques, CDM: Jovan LukicCAM: Quinn Sullivan, CAM: Daniel GazdagST: Bruno Damiani, ST: Tai Baribo ”we’ve been challenged in many, many ways, we’ve had some adverse moments, credit to the group. I’m really proud of their resilience right now, and their confidence as well, and that grows over time with momentum. It’s been a fun five weeks, but that’s all it’s been - it’s five weeks. We reset every Monday,and this week is going to be a big challenge for us, and we’re excited about the challenge.” - Bradley CarnellImage Credit: Philadelphia UnionBe 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 | Paul FrenzelNate Tennesen | Eric Frysinger | Steve BeavonTomiwa Aderinoye | Christopher Babos | Liam Jenkins Doop on Union fans! Featured Image Credit: Philadelphia Union
