Brotherly Game Daily Links: Union travel to LA in battle of MLS’s top two teams

Philadelphia Union News

Know Your Enemy | Conference leaders take over late night TV Saturday at 11PM
Carlos Vela remains a potent force and has scored four, but the other big goalscorer is Ryan Hollingshead with three goals off of four shots on target. Cristian Arango has chipped in two, but overall 12 players have already tallied. 

The Union enter their hardest stretch of the season
Five games in 16 days, starting with Saturday night’s visit to Los Angeles FC — a meeting of the first-place teams in MLS’s Eastern and Western Conferences — will test the Union.

LAFC downplay Supporters’ Shield buzz before Philadelphia Union visit
“This weekend Philly’s going to be a great test, a team that’s first in the East right now,” Acosta said. “Very high intensity, pressing team, aggressive and they’ve been scoring a lot of goals. So we definitely have to be mindful of them, especially in dangerous areas.”

MLS News

João Paulo out for the year after tearing ACL
Just before the half-hour mark, João Paulo had a collision on the sideline and went down in a heap. With his injury, Brian Schmetzer and his staff will have a major question to answer with a number of possible solutions. 

Caden Clark considering New York exit in summer as European clubs monitor situation
A source has informed OaM that multiple clubs, most notably Belgian side Club Brugge, have enquired about Clark’s status as he struggles to make his way back into the rotation for New York under manager Gerhard Struber.