VS Date/Time: Saturday July 3rd 2010, 10:30PM Eastern (7:30PM Pacific) Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA Current Forecast: Partly cloudy, Daytime High 73°, 67% Humidity TV Broadcast: Fox Soccer Channel / Fox Sports en Español League Position & Form [Last 6 League]: (East) T07. Philadelphia Union: 10 pts, 3-7-1, -8 GD [L T W L L W ] (West) 08. Chivas USA: 10 pts, 3-9-1, -6 GD [L L L L L L] Last Meeting: First ever meeting PHILADELPHIA UNION INJURY / SUSPENSION REPORT OUT: MF Kyle Nakazawa (R knee sprain); QUESTIONABLE: FW Alejandro Moreno (R knee contusion); PROBABLE: DF Cristian Arrieta (R ankle contusion) CHIVAS USA INJURY / SUSPENSION REPORT QUESTIONABLE: DF Alex Zotinca (L calf strain)
ouch 6 straight losses for Chivas. With the way we are playing we should win but of course no game should be taken lightly. I see another game with multiple union players scoring, maybe Moreno will get one with the way he is playing
Being a negadelphian, I am actually worried by the fact that they have a run of 6 straight league defeats. They had a run of 7 consecutive losses if you count their PK shootout loss to the Quakes in the 'Sacramento Cup'. That run of losses ended Jun 29th when they beat USL leaders Austin Aztex in a US Open Cup match. So to me that's a dangerous team to face on the road, one that will be going all out to stop their slide.
Chicago and KC were pretty much limping into their matches with Union and, well, we saw what happened.... At this point, Union isn't good enough to expect to beat (or even tie) any team on the road, even a bad one.
MLS Injury Report (as of 6/29) PHILADELPHIA UNION -- OUT: MF Kyle Nakazawa†(R knee sprain) QUESTIONABLE: FW Alejandro Moreno†(R knee contusion); PROBABLE: DF Cristian Arrieta (R ankle contusion) CHIVAS USA -- OUT: QUESTIONABLE: DF Alex Zotinca (L calf strain) PROBABLE: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/mls-injury-report-629 Also worth noting that Chivas will likely have Jonathan Bornstein back in the lineup as he returns from WC national team duty. MLSsoccer.com preview
That kind of thinking never holds up in this league. I doubt they'll start Bornstein, but if they do I can't for the life of me seem to figure out who that's better for. It's a road game, which is tough, but their home form has been nothing to write home about - especially recently. I can easily envision a cagey 1-0 win for the good guys, maybe 2-0 if Chivas break down mentally after going down. Now, do we work Orozco-Fiscal back into the center at the expense of Salinas or Arrieta at RB? I know alot were calling for his head after the KC loss, but he'll most likely be back (a decision I agree with).
From the way things have been going, you would expect the Union to have a very good chance at earning 3 points, but we do know how difficult it seems for this team to earn road wins. We'll see what kind of team confidence shows up tomorrow night.
to be honest I'm not worried. I'm sure we'll have a win, how close it will be though, is another story altogether.
For emphasis I'll quote myself from the pre-match discussion of the Union @ KC thread. So from here on out I'll stick with 'concerned, but hopeful' when it comes to road games against seemingly vulnerable opponents.
Hey guys, first post here... After the disappointment of the Chicago and KC Wiz games, it's great to go on the road with a bit of a confidence-booster. If we beat the Dynamo at their place, I don't see a reason we can't take the Goats down. Union 1, Chivas 0
http://www.myp2p.eu/competition.php?competitionid=&part=sports&discipline=football http://www.firstrow.net/
Even though it wasn't directed at me, thanks for the links. Saves me the trouble of searching for a stream myself. The game will start at 4 AM (CEST) for me. Looks like I'll be setting the alarm clock early.
Referee assignment info courtesy of ManiacalClown over on the Big Soccer Referee board. Jurisevic has worked 5 games with zero red cards so far. Of course he hasn't done a Union game yet, or a Kansas City game, or a TFC game. Those three teams have 4 reds each and account for a large % of the red cards in the league so far. The eastern conference in general is way out in front in the red-mist department, but those 3 teams are a big part of the reason. So hey, maybe he'll open his account this week by hitting us with another red card on the road. That would be awesome.
Gametime weather forcast appears to be perfect Sunny 65 degrees, 0% chance of rain, 70% humidity and no wind to speak of. The SoCal natives and UCLA guys will glad to be back in town.
Referee: Edvin JURISEVIC Official MLS Stats: 17 games, 3.8 Y/g, 1 R MLS 2010: 5 games, 3.4 Y/g, 0 R Assistant Referees: Paul SCOTT and Peter MANIKOWSKI Fourth Official: Ricardo SALAZAR All-time Philadelphia matches with Jurisevic as referee: First match
After the effort we saw at PPL, I will be disappointed if we can't get three points. We are the superior team. Our record has been marred by a handful of boneheaded mistakes, the overall quality of play has been playoff-worthy. A surprise change of schedule has put me in the clear to catch the game live, looking forward to it.
I'm headed to West Chester to camp with the family this weekend. If anyone is watching the game in the area, please email me with info. With the game starting at 1030, I should have plenty of time to sneak away...