The Philadelphia Union knows how bad things have been. Starting a season 0-0-6 is the worst start in team history, and until they can get those first points, it will continue a damning slide. This is the team that won the Supporters' Shield last season, but is a "selling club." This meant selling four of the most important players from a trophy-winning side in the offseason. The replacements for them are not hitting, and the club is in free-fall because of it. Their model as a club has fully shown their inadequacies that others saw when Philly was winning trophies.
Now seven weeks into the season, Philadelphia is the laughing stock of MLS, and they have to find a way to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. In matchweek seven, they travel to Montreal to do just that. Montreal has had its fair share of struggles as well, so can this be the week where things finally click for Philly, and they get their first points of the year?
MLS is a funny league. There is parity in its competitiveness. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day. That is why the start to the 2026 season has been very frustrating for two of the league's bottom dwellers, who go head-to-head this afternoon. Philadelphia Union's fall from grace has been sudden, while Montreal has been a team in flux since letting Wilfred Nancy go as coach after the 2022 season. The two teams sit in 13th (Montreal) and 15th (Philadelphia), yet a win for either side will see them rise closer to ninth place and a playoff place; MLS is a funny league, after all.
This match is one of two sides that have failed to score more than they concede. Montreal has seven goals for and 17 goals against, while Philly has only four goals in MLS play but has let in 11 over six matches. It's not outside the realm of possibility that this game is either a 1-0 win for a side or a multigoal thriller with defense optional. Either way, it will be a Saturday matinee that helps kick off the weekend of MLS.
Montreal hasn't had the impact they've wanted to so far in 2026, winning just one of its six games and losing the other five. They are a team in flux and have been for years. Joey Saputo and the rest of the ownership don't seem to invest in this club as much as other clubs they're affiliated with, and fans have been dealing with a long winter that has lasted many years as a result; see Union fans, it could actually be worse...
This poor form has carried into 2026 for CF Montreal as they have just one win, a shock 3-0 win over New York Red Bulls. The rest of their matches have been multigoal blowouts (5-0 to San Diego, 3-0 to Chicago, 3-0 to New England), or one-goal losses (2-1 to Orlando, and 4-3 to 10-man Cincinnati). The main bright spot for this club has been the attacking play of Wiki Carmona and Prince Owusu; both players have scored all seven of Montreal's goals this season. If Montreal is going to play well, those two will need to be firing on all cylinders, but that has seldom happened this year.
The keys to the Union's victory over a Montreal side are two-fold and fundamentally basic: stay compact in defensive structure and pepper their goal with shots. Both of these areas of the game have been a struggle for Philly. With their counterpress style and narrow formation, Philly has been caught out of position more often than not, and teams that are good in transition have made them pay. If the defense can stay home, and the defensive midfielders can pick the right time to go forward, then Philly may be okay against Montreal's weak offense.
On the other side of the field, Philly needs to take shots, even when it might not be a high-percentage one. There has been a lot of overthinking in the attack. The Union can build well at times, but once they reach the box, they look for the next pass to unlock defenses. This has led to losing the ball and counterattacks the other way. Getting the defense rattled early by taking shots when they're not expecting them could be the way for the Union's attack to build some confidence and maybe bag the first goal of the game, too.
Projected Union Starting XI vs CF Montreal
GK: Blake
LB: Nidinga CB: Makhanya CB: Harriel RB: Westfield
If the Union fails at these keys to the game and loses a seventh game in a row, it may be time to ask some major questions. Philly is a club on the verge of a major reconstruction. Ownership has finally started to spend more on players, but that hasn't paid off. Why is that? Could it be that those on the sporting side want the team to adopt a counter-pressing style, and the coaching staff isn't able to adapt when that style doesn't work? It seems like the answer to that is yes. If this losing streak continues, the club has to start thinking about whether this is the best way to run things.
While ownership is fast to sell promising players, they preach that they want a competitive team on the field. This has paid off to a point. However, as the team moves into the future of a sprint season in early 2027 and then the start of a Fall-to-Spring 2027/2028 season, maybe they'll want to reinvent themselves. The longer the club falls short of 2026 expectations, the more likely it feels they may actually blow things up, on the sporting side as well as the player side.
With all of that being said, Philly could win four in a row and head into May in a playoff position; this is MLS after all.
