The Philadelphia Union is stuck in limbo. They went from the top of Major League Soccer to letting go of four of their most important players, resulting in a failed rebuilding season. Now entering their 12th game of the 2026 season, Philly has just one win, three draws, and seven losses to sit at the bottom of the East. On the docket for the struggling club this weekend is a trip to second-place New England Revolution.
The fall from Supporters' Shield champions to an irrelevant team is something both of these clubs have felt in recent memory, as New England set a points record en route to winning the Shield back in 2021, only to finish 10th and miss the playoffs the next year. The 2026 Union looks set to follow in those footsteps.
It took New England a few seasons of inconsistency, but they are now back in a position to compete in MLS's East after a hot first third of the season, winning six of their first 10 matches in 2026. Head coach Marko Mitrovic took over this club at the start of the season and has his team believing they can make some noise in a year where the quality of play in the East has dipped. Can Philly lean on its young players to get a result in Foxborough?
The Union needs a confidence boost, and last week they almost found one in their 0-0 draw at home against first-place Nashville. If they could have just put one of their many chances away, the vibes would be on the rise. Now, Philly prepares to beat a well-organized New England team with a bit of a shorthanded roster.
New England is slowly becoming one of the surprises of the 2026 season as we enter the second-third of the season, but it didn't start that way. The Revs won just one of their first four games of the season, but they dug deep and have rattled off six unbeaten games in a row in MLS play, winning five of the six and drawing against Miami at their new stadium.
This team is highly outperforming their expected goals, as New England has scored 18 but has an xG of 12.7 across their 10 games. They are quietly in the top 10 in goals scored per match, and their defense is just as impressive. The Revolution concedes 1.20 goals per match, ranking seventh in MLS defense.
All of this shows that New England is organized and ruthless when they get chances; eight of the 11 starters for the Revs have scored this season! Stalwart midfielder Carles Gil is still the leader of this group, and New England's front office has surrounded their captain with young talent to get the most out of his creative flair. Matt Turner is having a renaissance year in net for New England as well, as he tries to make it back to the USMNT with a World Cup looming. So how can a last-place Union team get anything from this high-flying team?
We all know how the Union will approach this game. They will be against the ball from the jump, and look to clog the middle of the field to make Gil uncomfortable and create turnovers for counterattacks. The problem this year is that teams are fully aware of the Carnell press, and suck the Union in and then hit them with balls out wide. When the Union gets isolated in wide areas, they fail to defend effectively, get pulled out of position, and get scored on.
This will be the tale of the game: can Revs wide players Yow and Langoni beat Philly's homegrown outside backs Westfield and Harriel in a foot race? If they can, then they will get chances on goal and, with their conversion rate, will likely bag a goal or two. On top of that, the Union is dealing with a bit of an injury bug, as Sery and Ndinga have joined Bueno on the injury report and are out. This leaves Philly thin in defense against a high-flying attack.
Philadelphia Union Projected Starting XI at New England
GK: Blake
LB: Westfield CB: Makhanya CB: Martínez RB: Harriel
DM: Lukic DM: Jean Jacques
If the Union is to stop the clicking Revolution offense, they will need to counter with offense of their own. When looking at Philadelphia's expected goals this season, they rank higher than the Revolution, with an xG of 14.2 across 11 matches. The problem is, they only have nine goals this season, good for 0.80 goals per game.
This has been the most frustrating part of watching Philly this season. They can create chances to score, and then don't. A more in-depth look at that can be seen in crossing stats. Philly is third in MLS in successful crosses per match. That's how they want to attack, and it creates big chances, but they miss those chances at an alarming rate, missing 16 through their 11 MLS games.
So what's gonna give the Union the points against New England? First is limiting mistakes in transition defense, which has been a crux for Philly this season. Second is just getting the ball across the damn line in attack. Whether it be a beautifully worked play, a cross and one-time finish, or a wild deflection, the only way the Union gets points against the Revolution is by scoring one or more goals. That might not even be enough for a team that feels cursed by a longstanding unlucky streak.
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