Crew’s home edge vs. Union momentum

A midweek boost for Columbus meets a rejuvenated Philadelphia Union as both teams look to end April on a high. While both teams entered the season in poor form, recent success has bolstered both clubs. Can the Union continue their form and return to Philadelphia unbeaten? Let’s break down the matchup.

Crew Aim to Extend Dominant Home Run

The Crew enter tonight’s match off a 2-1 victory against the LA Galaxy. Sitting ninth in the Eastern Conference, Columbus looks to continue success against a Union side that can’t seem to get to the finish line.

When looking at Columbus, there are weapons  all over the pitch. Union skipper Bradley Carnell talked about Diego Rossi, saying, “He is an example of what a good player is in this league… He’s a bit of everything and he pops up everywhere.”

Rossi sits at four goals and an assist this season, which is second on the team. A major loss for Columbus is the man who sits beside him. Wessam Abou Ali, who has five goals of his own, has been ruled out for the season with a torn ACL. The two players combined for nine of the 12 goals the Black and Yellow, making Rossi the focal point of danger for a Union backline that conceded three times in the second half on Wednesday.

For first year head coach Henrik Rydström, it’s been a bit of a struggle to fill the shoes of MLS Champion coach Wilfred Nancy. Similarly to the Union, they only found their first MLS win this month against Atlanta United. Since, they have only dropped a single game this month to the New England Revolution.

The newfound form is matched with success from a Union alumni. Daniel Gazdag found his first goal of the MLS season this week against LA Galaxy, propelling the team to their second victory of the month.

The Crew are historically tough to beat at home for the Boys in Blue. Columbus is unbeaten in their last 10 home matches against the Union, winning six and drawing the other four. In fact, the Union have only won two of their 21 matches in Columbus.

​Keys to Success

Building off current form will be the measure of success for Columbus. The Crew will aim to finish off a strong April by getting back to the way they know how to play: fluid, creative, and allowing for flexibility between their attackers to create dangerous chances. This, with the home crowd behind them, will make the Black and Yellow a difficult team to beat.

Union Need Full 90 to Break Columbus Struggles

It almost seems like Philadelphia is inventing new ways to drop points. After a heartbreaking finish to their midweek exchange with Toronto FC, Philadelphia look to jump back and finish April strong.

However, April did prove to be a much stronger month for the Boys in Blue, who are now unbeaten in their last three matches. Two draws and a win make up three of the four matches of the month for the Union, and adding additional points in a place they struggle to play could turn around a team that is looking for any positives to move into the summer months.

Wednesday’s match saw goals from both Danley Jean-Jacques and Milan Iloski. For Iloski, it was his second goal of the season, while Danley netted both of his first goals of the season in the same night.

When discussing Danley, Carnell mentioned, “We know that he can be a weapon based on his athletic profile. We thought we could put them (Toronto) under pressure and it was gameplan oriented getting him higher.”

Danley brings both defensive tackling and offensive danger to this Union squad since his arrival this year, and getting him, as well as other midfielders, involved in the attacking spaces are a key to the formula for the Union moving forward.

In their most recent success, Carnell has worked to move midfielders into spaces beyond the forwards and into the final third. These movements resulted in goals from Danley and Bueno while creating lanes for forwards such as Iloski to find their goals as well.

​Keys to Success

The Union tend to struggle in Columbus, but the telling sign for Union fans will be if they can manage a full 90 minutes. We’ve seen glimpses of last year’s team, and moments that resulted in their first points of the season, but we have yet to see a complete game from this side.

If the Union can manage the match, find their midfielders in dangerous spaces, and keep their defense strong, they could finish April unbeaten in four.

You can catch the match on Apple TV+ at 7:30 p.m.