Harrison,NJ - On Saturday night, Philadelphia Union renews their Interstate-95 rivalry with New York Red Bulls. Kickoff from Red Bull Arena is slated for 7 PM EST.
Season Series between Red Bulls and Union level
This is the second Major League Soccer Regular Season matchup between both sides. Back in July, Philadelphia rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second half to earn a point at Talen Energy Stadium. In June, the Red Bulls fell to the Union, 2-1, in the Round of 16 of the 2016 Lamar Hunt United States Open Cup behind a second half Chris Pontius brace.
Playoff-clinching scenarios for Philadelphia and New York
With the season rapidly coming to a close, both teams still have much to play for on Saturday night.
Last week, New York clinched their ticket for the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 win over Montreal Impact. Despite having locked up a spot in the playoffs, Red Bulls are still in contention for the number one seed in the MLS Eastern Conference. With a win on Saturday and Toronto FC loss or draw against D.C. United later in the night, New York can move into first place with only two games left in the regular season.
Philadelphia solidified their good footing in the Eastern Conference with a 1-1 draw against Toronto. Philadelphia can clinch their first playoff appearance since 2011 in a couple of different ways.
There are two main simplistic scenarios for Philly to clinch. The first scenario for Philadelphia to clinch is to win on Saturday with a New England Revolution loss to Sporting Kansas City. The other scenario is for the Union to win and Montreal to lose to Orlando City Saturday night. Beyond that, there are a few other convoluted scenarios that involved at the least Philadelphia getting a result tomorrow night.
Injuries concerns for Union and Red Bulls
Both sides will have multiple injuries to worry about.
According to the MLS injury report, midfielders Maurice Edu, Ilsinho and Tranquillo Barnetta are all listed as questionable for Saturday's match. Ilsinho and Edu did make the 18 last week, but only Ilsinho made an appearance in the match. Edu is still working his way back from his left tibial stress fracture diagnosed earlier this season. If Edu does make it on the field, it will be his first appearance on the season.
On the other side of the pitch, New york will be without defender Ronald Zubar who underwent groin surgery ten days ago. This is will be the first of two matchups between the two clubs in the last three weeks. Both teams know each other well, which will make for an exciting matchup Saturday night with much to play on the line.