The first-place Philadelphia Union will try to extend their four-match unbeaten run on Saturday night when they host a rebuilding Toronto FC side in Chester, Pa.
The Union (15-5-5, 50 points) won three of those four games to take a one-point lead over Cincinnati atop the Eastern Conference standings entering the break for Leagues Cup play.
Tai Baribo is three off the MLS Golden Boot pace with 15 goals. And Philadelphia added another striker on Tuesday in Milan Iloski on a permanent transfer from FC Nordsjaelland, after he scored 10 MLS goals earlier this season on loan at San Diego.
Despite all that, Union manager Bradley Carnell is wary of an opponent that is defending much more compactly since the departure of Italian stars Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi at the end of June.
“They plug up spaces, they drop players in the back line, they overload defending areas,” Carnell said. “It’s not going to be easy to break them down.”
Toronto has conceded a respectable 10 goals in eight MLS matches since a previous 2-1 defeat to the Union in Canada, while taking eight points from those games.
The Reds (5-13-6, 21 points) just completed the first move of a self-proclaimed roster overhaul on Thursday, acquiring Djordje Mihailovic from the Colorado Rapids in a cash trade for a fee of up to $9 million. Mihailovic was the joint-leading Rapids scorer with nine goals before departing and also had seven assists.
“Djordje’s ability to deliver high-level output week in and week out is widely understood,” Toronto FC general manager Jason Hernandez said in a statement. “But his winning mentality and desire to elevate TFC were key factors in securing him as our new number 10.”
It’s not clear whether Mihailovic will be available for Saturday’s match, but TFC would love to have him as soon as possible.
Theo Corbeanu leads Toronto with five goals, but after Bernardeschi’s departure, no one else has more than two.
–Field Level Media
