Philadelphia Union will travel to California on Saturday night to take on San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 10:30 PM EST (TV: MLS LIVE, The Comcast Network).

San Jose has the advantage in the all-time matchup with four wins to the Union’s two and a tie between them. In San Jose, the Union have not beaten the Earthquakes nor have they scored a goal in three total matchups. Recently, San Jose has been the hottest team in the league by winning four-straight games without conceding a goal.

Both teams will be missing key players for Saturday’s game, which will have major effects on each team.

For Philadelphia, Andre Blake is with the Jamaican National Team so John McCarthy will be in line for the start. In addition, captain Maurice Edu will still be out with a groin injury, leaving Steven Vitoria to continue to fill in.

The main missing piece will be central attacking midfielder Cristian Maidana, who is suspended for the next two Union MLS games for spitting at New England Revolution’s Lee Nguyen. Maidana, who leads Major League Soccer in assists, is an important player in the Union counterattack as he usually is responsible for finding the right outlet pass to the flanks.  It is no secret the Union are at their most potent when the counterattack is working and without Maidana, Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin will have look hard at his current available players for a suitable replacement.

The most likely player to fill the central attacker role left open is Tranquillo Barnetta. When Barnetta was officially introduced to the Philadelphia faithful, Curtin told the press that the Swiss International is a, “No. 8/No. 10 type of hybrid, who can get you goals and is very good in possession.”  However, so far, Barnetta has been playing on the wing in his brief stint with the Union. While keeping in mind this upcoming game will be his sixth, Barnetta has not lived up to one of the world’s top free agents this transfer season. This is not to say he has been poor, but he has not excelled either. His play in the central attacking role will be intriguing to watch, as well as the key to the Union offense on Saturday night.

On the other side of the pitch, San Jose will be missing three starting midfielders from last week’s win over Los Angeles Galaxy. Midfielders Marc Pelosi (USMNT Under-23), Anibal Godoy (Panama) and Cordell Cato (Trinidad & Tobago) have all been called into their respective national teams, leaving the Earthquakes thin at the position. In addition, Sanna Nyassi (Gambia), who has also started 18 games this season, has also been called into his respective national team as well. San Jose coach Dom Kinnear will have the tough task of reassembling his midfield while trying to keep his team right in the thick of playoff contention.

Overall, these teams are on two different paths. One, San Jose, has been one of the best teams in MLS over the span of August and have found themselves in a renewed playoff hunt. On the other hand, Philadelphia has had multiple chances to make up points in the MLS Eastern Conference, but has been unable to do so and will almost certainly miss the playoffs. However, do not expect Philadelphia to roll over in this game for San Jose as this will be a tough matchup for both sides in a league where odd things happen each week.

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