Leagues Cup: Philadelphia Union vs. Washington DC Preview, Odds, Predictions, Picks

Philadelphia Union is in excellent form coming into the clash with DC United. The team from the City of Brotherly Love posts solid performances these days, and is one of the top favorites for winning the Leagues Cup. Meanwhile, United has no pressure, which is great for Wayne Rooney’s crew. This game is a nice chance to boost their morale, as they have nothing to lose, with the majority of the fans and analysts already seeing Union in the next stage. 

Preview

Philadelphia Union (-150) is on the rise, with four consecutive victories. Prior to the start of the League Cup, the Union was better than Nashville on the road, 0-2, and New York City FC, at home, 2-1. 

Coach Jim Curtin’s guys were flamboyant in the group stage of the Leagues Cup, opening it with a 3-1 win over Club Tijuana. They had an even more confident performance against Queretaro, whom Union smashed 5-1. Daniel Gazdag is among the best scorers in the competition, with four goals.

Philly’s games are efficient, with only two of the past ten finishing with under 2.5 goals. The attack of the team is pretty solid, but on the other side, the defense is shaky, having recorded two clean sheets in the same span.

DC United (+425) is highly inconsistent this year. They constantly post one good and then two bad performances, having three wins, three losses, and a tie in the previous seven appearances across all the competitions.

Wayne Rooney’s team advanced from the Leagues Cup group stage with a win and a loss. They were better than CF Montreal in the opening event, 1-0, and after that, UNAM Pumas routinely beat them 3-0.

A big problem for Rooney is the defense, who constantly allows two or more goals per game. In six meetings over the previous nine, we’ve seen them conceding more than once, and in all but one of those encounters, DC lost. 

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Philadelphia doesn’t have any trouble with injured or suspended players.

On the other side, DC United can’t count on Jeahze, Ku-DiPietro and Rodriguez, who are all injured. 

Head to Head Games

The first meeting of the campaign was in the MLS in May. The result in Philadelphia was 0-0. Last year, the Union was ruthless against United, packing 13 goals combined in two contests. The first was at home in Philly, 7-0, while the rematch in DC ended 0-6 for Union. It was arguably the most humiliating experience for United in the entire campaign. 

Prediction

As stated, Union is a big favorite here, because Curtin’s team is in excellent form, and due to their fantastic attack, that has been very productive lately. On the other hand, DC has issues in the back line, and Rooney can’t solve them right now. Because of all this, Philly should win. With all due respect to DC, them staying unbeaten here would require seeing some pretty strange things on the field, which aren’t impossible but are unlikely. Union’s victory is priced at -150, which is a solid offer, we have to use. 

Pick: Philadelphia Union wins -150