For the second straight year, the Philadelphia Union host NYCFC in the Eastern Conference final at Subaru Park.

Philadelphia finished as the top seed in the East and needed a 59th-minute goal by Leon Flach to get past a tough Cincinnati side 1-0 in last week's Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Boys In Blue, seeded third, have been ultra-impressive in dismantling Miami and Montreal by a 6-1 in the previous two matches and seek to become the first team to repeat as East champions since Toronto in 2016-17.

The winner of this match will face the winner of the Western Conference final between LAFC and Austin FC in the MLS Cup final next Sunday.

Team news

Philadelphia Union

Manager Jim Curtin will hope to have midfielder Alejandro Bedoya as the Philadelphia captain has been suffering from a hip flexor strain that has kept him out for the last month.

NYCFC

The Boys In Blue will check on the status of Alfredo Morales, Maxi Moralez, Tayvon Gray and Maxime Chanot, who are all questionable with lower body injuries.

Talles Magno, who scored the goal that won the Eastern Conference title last season, is also listed as questionable with an upper body issue.

Predicted lineups

Philadelphia Union: Blake; Real, Elliott, Glesnes, Mbaizo; Flach, Martínez, McGlynn; Gazdag; Uhre, Carranza

NYCFC: Johnson; Callens, Martins, Chanot, Tinnerholm; Moralez, Acevedo; O'Toole, Rodríguez, Pereira; Héber

Ones to watch

Mikael Uhre (Philadelphia Union)

Part of a three-man attack with Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza, the Dane, who scored eight times in the regular season, will need to make good runs to unlock the NYCFC defense to give his side a chance to score.

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Heber (NYCFC)

The Brazilian has scored in both of the Boys In Blue's playoff victories and figures to play a big part in the outcome of this one, especially with the playmakers in the NYCFC midfield.

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Previous meetings

Philadelphia won both matches against NYCFC this season, allowing just one goal combined.

On March 19, the Union won 2-0 despite only holding 26.1% of possession with first-half goals from Bedoya and Daniel Gazdag enough to see off the champions.

Uhre scored just nine minutes into the rematch and it appeared Philadelphia was on its way to a 1-0 victory until Valentin Castellanos converted from the penalty spot a minute from time.

In the sixth minute of injury time, Cory Burke found a winner to complete the season sweep.

How to watch

The match will be televised nationally on Fox Sports 1 in English and FOX Deportes in Spanish.

Kickoff is set for 8pm Eastern time.

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