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A Philadelphia Union blog hosted by Christopher A. Vito and Matthew De George

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Union-DC: Lineups and prematch observations

UNION (4-2-3-1) 
Blake 
Fabinho-Marquez-Tribbett-Rosenberry 
Carroll-Barnetta 
Pontius-Alberg-Ilsinho 
Sapong 
Bench: Jones, Gaddis, Anderson, Creavalle, Fernandes, Le Toux, Herbers 

D.C. United (4-4-2) 
Hamid 
Kemp-Opare-Birnbaum-Franklin 
DeLeon-Sarvas-Jeffrey-Neagle 
Espindola-Kamara 
Bench: Worra, Boswell, Robinson, Vincent, Sam, Saborio, Acosta 

- For the first time since June 1, CJ Sapong reenters the Union starting lineup, bringing an end to the false-nine experiment. This introduces a tantalizing first for Union fans – the first minutes all season that Sapong, Tranquillo Barnetta, Ilsinho and Roland Alberg are on the field simultaneously. You would think that with the success of those other pieces sans Sapong over the last month, the Union should kick it into another gear with the center forward back. Time will tell.

- Ken Tribbett comes back into the lineup with Josh Yaro suspended. That enforced change means Jim Curtin keeps the fullbacks the same around him.

- On the injury front, the Union get some relief for their forward line. Fabian Herbers and Sebastien Le Toux have both shaken off injury problems to get back to the bench.

- D.C. changes things up against this week. It’s a two-forward look, with both Alvaro Saborio and Luciano Acosta on the bench and Fabian Espindola pairing with Alhaji Kamara, presumably. Newly acquired Lloyd Sam also makes the bench, while Kofi Opare is preferred to Bobby Boswell in central defense. That’s a lot of options at Ben Olsen’s disposal on the bench and a lot of ways they can change the formation from the 4-4-2.

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