New York City FC take on Philadelphia Union this Saturday at Subaru Park.
Here are the Keys to the Match, presented by Ford.
Big Win
Pascal Jansen has often said he allows himself 24 hours to reflect on each New York City FC game. He could be forgiven for extending that window after last weekend’s dramatic 3-2 road win against Hudson River Derby rivals, the Red Bulls.
That victory saw New York City lift the Hudson River Derby trophy for the second consecutive season—at Red Bull Arena, just as they did in 2024. More importantly, the team bounced back from defeat and reignited their momentum after a strong run of results in September.
Now comes another opportunity: a trip to face the Eastern Conference leaders in Philadelphia. With a top four finish in the conference still within reach—the first since 2022—New York City have plenty of motivation to keep pushing forward.
Form Guide
Philadelphia have put together one of the most intriguing runs of form in MLS recently.
In their last six matches, the Union have either kept a clean sheet or failed to score. That stretch has included dominant wins (4-0 and 6-0) as well as a heavy 7-0 defeat to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Unsurprisingly, they hold the best goal difference in the Eastern Conference at +23 and boast the league’s strongest defensive record.
In head-to-head meetings with New York City FC, Philadelphia have had the upper hand of late, winning three of the last five. Historically, however, New York City maintain a narrow edge: 12 wins to Philly’s 11, with 74 goals scored between the two clubs.
Earlier this season, Alonso Martínez struck the only goal in a 1-0 New York City win, and the team will hope for a repeat performance this weekend.
Consistency
Bradley Carnell has built his Philadelphia side around consistency this season.
Lining up in a 4-4-2 with two holding midfielders, the Union are compact out of possession and primed to transition quickly when winning the ball in dangerous areas. Under Carnell, they do not seek to dominate possession. Instead, they are direct and purposeful when they have it.
Carnell often references his “60/30/10” philosophy:
“60% of all goals are scored in that [transition] phase,” he said earlier this year. “The 30% is the set pieces, so 30% of all goals being scored from set pieces. And in possession, quite surprising, you’d think a lot of people value that the most, but only 10% of the goals are scored within that (category).”
Carnell gears his strategy and training to engineer more of those transitional opportunities, and that makes Philadelphia a challenging opponent that can flip very quickly; while also meaning they can be caught on the counter. New York City will need to be mindful of that, while also trying to engineer transitional opportunities of their own.
