UNION (4-2-3-1)

Blake

Fabinho-Marquez-White-Gaddis 

Lahoud-Nogueira

Le Toux-Barnetta-Ayuk

Sapong

Bench: McCarthy, Wenger, Creavalle, Carroll, Casey, Maidana, Aristeguieta.

Orlando City (4-4-1-1)

Ford

Shea-Hines-Collin-Boden

Winter-Ceren-Higuita-Rivas

Kaka

Larin

Bench: Mitchell, Ramos, Mateos, Carrasco, Avila, Neal, Ribeiro

Preview 

- The questions for the Union remain that same, at least those that haven’t already been answered. Andrew Wenger doesn’t rate another look at fullback. Fernando Aristeguieta can’t start up top. Zach Pfeffer can’t even make the 18. Andre Blake remains the guy in goal. Michael Lahoud, after a less than convincing outing at Red Bull Arena, retains his spot, largely on the logic that he played so well in the 0-0 draw with Orlando in August.


- Interesting that Cristian Maidana starts on the bench. He enters tied with Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco for the league lead in assists with 15, one ahead of Sporting Kansas City's Benny Feilhaber. The flipside, though, is how badly he played last week in New York before being subbed off a halftime.

- One weakness that’s glaring (among many that are more concealed): There’s no defensive depth. Maurice Edu was shut down for groin surgery two weeks ago, and Steven Vitoria is suspended due to yellow-card accumulation. So beyond Richie Marquez and Ethan White, the next player with center back experience is probably Wenger. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that no one wants to see the season end this way.

- Orlando City needs a win, and a big one. They’ve got nothing to lose, but Adrian Heath isn't exactly throwing all caution to the wind. Kaka and Cyle Larin will be the focal points, but the fullbacks will have to get forward with regularity. Putting Brek Shea in the back four is a way to get another attacking player in the side, and expect him to get forward with gusto.

- The Union are thin in defense, but the Lions are at bare bones in goal. Tally Hall had surgery this week, meaning that long-time backup Josh Ford is in net while MLS pool goalkeeper Trey Mitchell, whom the Union used for their bench on two occasions this season, is the reserve. The Union should test Ford early and often.

UNION (4-2-3-1)

Sylvestre 

Fabinho-White-Marquez-Williams

Carroll-Nogueira

Wenger-Maidana-Le Toux

Casey

Bench: McCarthy, Lee, McLaughlin, Pfeffer, Sapong, Fred, Ayuk.

New York Red Bulls (4-2-3-1)

Robles 

Lawrence-Ouimette-Miller-Duvall

McCarty-Felipe

Sam-Kljestan-Grella

Wright-Phillips

Bench: Reynish, Lade, Jean-Baptiste, Richards, Davis, Obekop, Abang

Preview 

- Jim Curtin has stated that he’s not a fan of making changes after a win. So after the Union’s win last week against D.C. United, the manager’s changes are limited to necessity. Curtin will again go with Brian Sylvestre, who didn’t make a save in earning the shutout over D.C. as well as sticking with Brian Carroll and Conor Casey, the veteran fulcrum that helped spearhead a victory that ended a four-game losing streak.


- The changes are enforced at the back, where Maurice Edu (yellow-card accumulation) and Ray Gaddis (ankle) are absent in addition to the ongoing injury to Steven Vitoria (groin/knee). That forces Richie Marquez into the fray for his second MLS start and third appearance to pair with Ethan White, while Fabinho is on the left and Sheanon Williams flips back to the right.

- That backline will have a ton of pressure to withstand against the midfield trio of Sacha Kljestan, Lloyd Sam and Mike Grella. Combined with Dax McCarty’s ability to break up attacks and Bradley Wright-Phillips’ tendency to punish mistakes, the Union have to be clinical in burying chances when they arise, which falls particularly on Casey and the struggling wingers.

- The flipside is that the Union have holes they can exploit in the New York defense. Roy Miller pairs centrally with Karl Ouimette, with both Damien Perrinelle and Ronald Zubar out and Matt Maizga on international duty. That’s a defense that the Union should be able to score against.

- The key player for the Union today could be Vincent Nogueira. He’s surrounded by players not particularly skilled in keeping possession or completing passes. That puts a huge onus on the Frenchman to do that and make sure the Union can both push for goals and restrict New York possessions. 

UNION (4-2-3-1)

M’Bolhi

Gaddis-Edu-Valdes-Williams

Okugo-Nogueira

Le Toux-Maidana-Wenger

Casey

Bench: MacMath, Fabinho, Carroll, Fred, Cruz, Brown, Ribeiro

D.C. United (4-4-1-1)

Hamid

Korb-Boswell-Birnbaum-Kemp

DeLeon-Kitchen-Arnaud-Franklin

Silva

Espindola

Bench: Willis, Inkoom, Opare, Jeffrey, Neal, Johnson, Pontius

Preview 

- Ethan White is apparently not healthy enough to go with his hamstring strain, so the Union field arguably their best 11 players today, with Maurice Edu in central defense and Amobi Okugo returning to the midfield. Okugo-for-White is the only change from last weekend’s lineup.

- Changes abound for Ben Olsen’s squad, with a first-choice lineup out after the reserves did the job midweek in the CONCACAF Champions League. Fabian Espindola leads the line, interchanging with Luis Silva. Using Sean Franklin in the midfield instead of Samuel Inkoom or Chris Pontius (the former has been used a lot lately; the latter is still rounding back into form after a long absence) is a defense posture, but with Pontius and Eddie Johnson on the bench, that can easily be changed.

- The battle to watch here is in the middle of the pitch. Perry Kitchen has emerged as one of the most tenacious holding midfielders in the league, while Davy Arnaud has proved to be a veteran box-to-box contributor. Okugo and Vincent Nogueira, respectively, will have to match those two in kind.

Union (4-2-3-1)

What they're playing for: The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
(Times Staff/Julia Wilkinson)

MacMath

Gaddis -Valdes-White-Williams

Edu-Nogueira

Wenger-Maidana-Le Toux

Casey

Bench: M’Bolhi, Lahoud, Okugo, Carroll, Fred, Cruz, Ribeiro

Seattle Sounders (4-4-2)

Frei

Yedlin-Marshall-Scott-Gonzalez

Evans-Rose-Alonso-Neagle

Barrett-Dempsey

Bench: Hahnemann, Anibaba, Ariza, Pineda, Cooper, Martins, Pappa

Preview 

- The first name on the team sheet is the most telling: Jim Curtin is sticking with his man, putting his faith in Zac MacMath in what could very well be the last time he plays in front of the Union faithful. His shootout heroics are why the Union got to the final, and the hope from Curtin is that he’ll lead them to the organization’s first trophy.

- Curtin also gets his dream midfield scenario for the first time, pairing a dynamic holding midfielder (Maurice Edu) with his preferred deep-lying playmaker (Vincent Nogueira) and his preferred central attacking midfielder (Cristian Maidana). Injuries and international absences had long prevented this from happening, but this is the chance for the Union to put out its strongest team at just the right moment.

- With everyone available, someone had to make way to the bench. That turns out to be Amobi Okugo, despite playing very well of late. Objectively, Okugo might be a little better at his position than Ethan White, so the decision for Curtin was to field your best 11 players or your best starting XI.Seeing Okugo relegated to the bench is a nod to Curtin’s stated desire to have central defenders (like White) play as central defenders and midfielders (like Edu) play as midfielders.

- Seattle named unchanged lineups that are essentially their best XIs the last two games in MLS, including a 3-2 win against Real Salt Lake last Friday. They make just one change today, with Obafemi Martins rested for Chad Barrett. Along with Martins, the bench includes Kenny Cooper, the second-leading scorer in the modern era of the U.S. Open Cup with 13 goals. That includes a goal in each game this season, six in total, plus five goals in seven MLS games against the Union.

- If you’re looking for a key for the Union tonight, it might just be taking care of Andy Rose, who has three goals in his last two games. He could really shift the balance making those runs off the attention given to Clint Dempsey.

Philadelphia Union (4-2-3-1)

MacMath

Gaddis-Valdes-White-Williams

Carroll-Edu

Le Toux-Nogueira-Cruz

Casey

Bench: Blake, Fabinho, Okugo, Lahoud, Fred, Brown, Wenger.

Montreal Impact (4-2-3-1)

Perkins

Krol-Ferrari-Lefevre-Miller

Larrea-Bernier

Romero-Felipe-Mapp

McInerney

Bench: Bush, Ouimette, Jackson-Hammel, Duka, Tissot, Nakajima-Farran, Mallace.

Preview

 - The Union waste no time inserting Carlos Valdes back into the lineup after inking him to a new deal Monday. The Colombian’s return to fitness was relatively simple, as he mentioned Monday that he’d been training for 10 days after a two-week post-World Cup hiatus. Who he’d be paired with seemed the bigger mystery as the week progressed, but Ethan White gets the nod with Austin Berry not making the 18. He's pretty far down the depth chart.

One of the other big decisions was whether Maurice Edu, after 45 minutes in Wednesday’s All-Star Game followed by a cross country flight, would get the nod. Perhaps that's why he's in a more attacking position, with Brian Carroll to do the dirty work of holding. I suspect Carroll is preferred to Michael Lahoud given the latter's lengthy international ordeal this week.

- Interestingly, the odd-man out, even with Cristian Maidana still nursing a hamstring injury that rules him out completely, is Amobi Okugo. The last time Okugo didn't start an MLS game when not suspended, Peter Nowak was the Union's manager.

- The debut of Rais M’Bolhi will have to wait another week as he’s not in the 18. Chalk up another start for Zac MacMath as he nears 100 league games.

- Expect Brian Brown to play a role in this one. Danny Cruz has been less than convincing than late, and if the Union are up after 60 minutes, Jim Curtin may want to get a break for Conor Casey with the Dallas U.S. Open Cup semi looming just 72 hours away.

- Frank Klopas has vacillated between using one striker or two in his preferred formation. This week, he’s settled on one away from home, making the decision between fired-up former Union player Jack McInerney and Union killer Marco Di Vaio. Di Vaio got the nod in the midweek CONCCAF Champions League game going 90, so McInerney gets his homecoming start. While the McInerney nod isn’t a shock, no Di Vaio in the 18 is a bit.

- All things considered, that’s a fairly attack-minded midfield from Klopas with Andres Romero, Felipe and Justin Mapp marauding forward.

Wednesday's edition of the Daily Times, featuring Danny Cruz.

Philadelphia Union (4-2-3-1)

MacMath 

Gaddis -Edu-White-Williams 

Carroll-Nogueira 

Wenger-Maidana-Le Toux 

Casey 

Bench: Blake, Fabinho, Berry, Fred, Wheeler, Brown, Cruz

New York Red Bulls (4-4-2) 

Robles 

Oyongo-Miazga-Olave-Duvall 

Alexander-McCarty-Cahill-Sam 

Henry/Wright-Phillips 

Bench: Meara, Kimura, Sekagya, Lade, Akpan, Convey, Bover.

Game Preview

- Jim Curtin is forced to bring in fresh legs thanks to the red cards to Amobi Okugo and Michael Lahoud in the draw with Colorado Saturday. That means that he gets to delay for a week the question of how Vincent Nogueira and Cristian Maidana coexist in midfield, with Nogueira taking deep-lying role alongside Brian Carroll. It’s Nogueira’s first league appearance since June 7, John Hackworth’s last game in charge.

- There’s a shuffle in the backline, too, with Maurice Edu back from suspension and Ethan White having done enough in a good showing against Colorado to earn a second start. (That means Austin Berry is still looking for his first minutes since the New England loss May 17.) The last time the teams played, a 2-1 win for the Red Bulls in Harrison, right back Ray Gaddis had one of his most difficult games of the season thanks to Peguy Luyindula and Eric Alexander. This time, Fabinho appears to be the weak link, headed to the bench so Gaddis (at the left) and Sheanon Williams can man the flanks. It’s the first time Fabinho hasn’t started since May 3 in Seattle.

- For the Red Bulls, who enter on a five-game unbeaten streak, Dax McCarty makes his return to the starting lineup, pairing with Tim Cahill in the center. That battle for central midfield supremacy is one where the Red Bulls have the edge on paper and Carroll and Nogueira will have to work hard to overturn. Up top, you know what you’re getting with MLS goals leader Bradley Wright-Phillips and assists leader Thierry Henry.
- Apparently the effects of the Shane O’Neill tackle are lingering with Danny Cruz, who is on the bench as Andrew Wenger starts for the first time since May 17. Brian Brown is on the bench yet again looking for his debut.

- The Union get a little bit of a break with Luyindula’s cryptic absence. Philly native Bobby Convey is among those on the bench, which runs pretty thin for the Red Bulls.  

Philadelphia Union (4-2-3-1)

MacMath

Gaddis-Williams-White-Fabinho

Okugo-Lahoud

Le Toux-Maidana-Cruz

Casey

Bench: Blake, Carroll, Berry, Nogueira, Wheeler, Wenger, Brown.

Colorado Rapids (4-2-3-1)

Irwin

Wynne-O’Neill-Moor-Burch

LaBrocca-Watts

Hill-Powers-Serna

Brown

Bench: Berner, Klute, Hairston, Torres, Piermayr, Alvarez, Mwanga

- At long last, the Union have something to show in return for the trade for Jeff Parke: Ethan White gets his debut with Maurice Edu (red card) suspended and Austin Berry healthy enough only for the bench.. After a handful of injuries early in the season, White has a chance to prove his worth, and it’s a stiff test against Deshorn Brown. I suspect that White’s ability to contend with Brown’s speed (along with Jim Curtin’s preference not to move Amobi Okugo back to defense and disrupt the midfield’s burgeoning chemistry) is what makes him the choice here.

- Speaking of the midfield, Vincent Nogueira is healthy enough to make the bench, but the club has expressed a desire this week to be cautious with a groin injury that is the first of that type for Nogueira. As a result, he’s been deemed fit for the last several weeks … without actually playing. And given the job Cristian Maidana is doing in that central attacking role, there’s no need to push him.

- The loan capture of Brian Brown was confirmed around 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon. By 7, he’s on the bench in the Union 18. Seems like another body for Antoine Hoppenot, who’s 0-for-3 in making Curtin’s MLS squads, to climb over. Let’s see what the 21-year-old has got.

- The Rapids are losing two of their leading creative forces in midfielder Jose Mari (ankle) and forward Vicente Sanchez (suspended). That accentuates their dependence on the creativity of Brown up top. With the defensive abilities of Nick LaBrocca and the solidity of this backline, expect the Rapids to sit in plenty and absorb pressure, then try to launch counter attacks with Dillon Powers and long balls played into Brown. And then there's former Union No. 1 overall draft pick Danny Mwanga sitting on the bench. Interesting to see what reaction he would get.

Apologies if this sounds familiar, but until things significantly change at PPL Park, the tenor of the questions and answers is likely to be the same for a while. A few wrinkles are in there today, but otherwise, more of the same.

On the challenge of a West Coast swing:
We take this as an opportunity. You’ve got two games on the West Coast. When you’re planning these things out, it’s much easier to have two flights rather than four. You’d lose two days of travel if you came back and forth. So it makes sense to stay out there during this time, especially playing on a Sunday then the following Saturday. I think it’s good that our guys are going to be together full-time. That’s important because I think when you’re in these moments where things are not going your way, you’ve got to stick together and you’ve got to fight through it, so we’ll try to do that. But we still are playing the LA Galaxy on Sunday, which is a huge challenge and a game that we feel like we need to get a result in.

On righting the ship:
I think we have to look at the positives from our Kansas City game. I think we also have to look at all the positives from the games early in the year where we played really good soccer and had mistakes here or there. We continue to think that we are a good soccer team. The results are not showing that right now, so we have to go out there and make sure we do everything possible, maybe adjust some things tactically to give ourselves a better chance to be successful in those games. Saturday, for me, was not a really good indication because I think that game could’ve been much different. You have to give New England credit. We did not play very well in some moments, but I think that game could’ve been different in a lot of ways. We’ve just got to go back to it, believe in ourselves and see if we can get results. Honestly, this two-game road swing on the West Coast is not an ideal time to say that you have to get results, but that’s in fact where we are. We have to do that.
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Austin Berry, here jumping against Portland's Diego Valeri in the season opener,
finds himself on the bench behind Aaron Wheeler in the Union's
center-back pecking order. (AP)

John Hackworth is generally not one for grand declarations or illuminating insights into his coaching process as it pertains to players. That close-to-the-vest demeanor makes his open proclamation that Aaron Wheeler is his first-choice center back at the moment in favor of a healthy-again Austin Berry all the more poignant.

In full (asides and all), here is the answer Hackworth gave when I asked the question of the pecking order between Wheeler and Berry:

“I don’t think there’s a definitive answer for that because you have Aaron Wheeler, who’s played well. Being very honest – and I told Aaron this during the first half against Houston – he needed to be more aggressive. He needed to assert himself more. And he did a great job of that toward the end of the first half, and he continued to do that in the second half. You get a shutout as a team, and deal with an opponent in Houston who kind of like us came away from their previous game against New England, just they were going to go out and take shots from everywhere. And we defended pretty well as a group.

“My point is thought that Aaron has done well in the minutes that he’s played, and because we’ve had a positive result like getting a shutout and doing it against a team like Houston that was going to come out firing, I think Aaron is still the first choice. And Austin, and there’s other guys like Ethan White, who need to continue to work hard in training to see if they get that opportunity.”

So there you have it: Wheeler is the Union’s first-choice center back until further notice. The fact that in 2012, Wheeler was a forward in the Finnish second division while Berry was MLS rookie of the year as a central defender in Chicago is of no consequence in the debate, however interesting the sentence might read.

What is important for the Union and Hackworth is how they’ve stacked up this season. From what we’ve seen, there’s little separating the two. Wheeler has started five games, including the last two and five of the last six, while Berry has gotten three starts, finishing each game but the New England match, in which Wheeler spelled him for what goes a split clean sheet between them, I suppose. (Wheeler also played the final three minutes of the Portland game in a pseudo-defensive capacity; we’ll ignore that for this evaluation.)

So here are the raw numbers this season:
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