Tonight NYC take on the Philadelphia Union for the third time this season. Welcome to the MLS.

Form

After playing against Philly twice it was clear that they’d be hanging out with us near the bottom of the table. And this season has mostly been that, yet recently they’ve had a good run of form.

Their 3 nil home win against the Columbus Crew continued a run that has seen them win 3 of their last 4 games, scoring 7 goals and only allowing 2.

But NYC shouldn’t be too nervous. The Union are a highly inconsistent side. Every match they play there is a chance they won’t show up and that bodes well for NYC. Truth be told, Philly are one of the few teams in the MLS that NYC has a fair chance of beating every time they play.

NYCFC’s form is still crap, but the Houston Dynamo game was bearable. Getting a point is nice, and almost scoring the game winner multiple times in the second half, including a diving header from Jeb Brovsky that hit the post, will give fans some hope. It was ok, but still far from what we need.

Lineups

Union (4-2-3-1): Sylvestre (GK), Fabinho (LB), Edu (CB), Vitoria (CB), Gaddis (RB), Nogueira (CM), Carroll (CM), Le Toux (LM), Maidana (CAM), Wegner (RM), CJ Sapong (ST)

-Forward Aristeguieta and center back Vitoria are both doubts after picking up muscle strains.

NYCFC (4-4-2): Saunders (GK), Brovsky (LB), Wingert (CB), Hernandez (CB), Facey (RB), Alvarez (LM), Jacobson (CM), Poku (CM), Ballouchy (RM), Villa (ST), Nemec (ST)

-Calle and Williams are still out, while Shelton is a doubt after picking up a left knee strain.

-With Mix Diskerud out banging the Netherlands 4-3, this could be a great opportunity to give Poku a chance to shine. With Lampard and reports of Pirlo coming through the tabloids, earning a center mid berth seems harder than ever for Poku. If he starts and impresses he could make a strong case for himself. But this is all probably useless conjecture seeing as Kreis will probably just play McNamara or some shit.

Final Thoughts

Philly are just about the only team that NYC honestly has a chance of beating every time they play. However, the Union are playing fairly well at home and will look to dispense of an NYC team that has probably forgotten what winning means.

This could be a real opportunity for NYC to do something, but, as always, we’ll probably lose.