The top team in the Eastern Conference travels to Chester, Pennsylvania on Saturday to take on the Philadelphia Union in what might be the “Game of the Weekend.” The Columbus Crew are fresh off back to back home victories and sit, with a slim lead, at the top of the table. Behind them? The Philadelphia Union.

Despite each of these teams being the class of the Eastern Conference, they couldn’t be more different in terms of their style and approach to the game. For the Crew, who have three matches in a week, this presents an opportunity to further their lead at the top of the East and prove themselves against one of their biggest competitors this season. In fact, there is a real argument to be made that this will be the Crew’s toughest fixture in any competition thus far in 2025.

Philadelphia Union at a Glance:

Record: 7-1-3, 22 points

Form: D,L,W,W,W,

Leading Scorer: Tai Baribo (7 goals)

Assist Leader: Quinn Sullivan (5 assists)

Player to Watch: Quinn Sullivan

By now you’ve definitely heard of his brother Cavan, who is off to Manchester City for millions of dollars as soon as he turns 18, but Quinn is no slouch and for my money has been the best Union player so far in 2025. Featuring on the right side of Philadelphia’s midfield, Sullivan is in the midst of a breakout campaign. The 21 year old has already contributed 5 assists and a goal in MLS play. Sullivan’s standout ability is his power and accuracy as a passer and shooter. His role in Philly’s system asks him to serve balls into dangerous areas and shoot from distance.

How Philadelphia Union play: 

Bradley Carnell is in his first year with the Union after being let go by Saint Louis last season. Carnell replaced long time Union coach Jim Curtain who led to the club a Supporters Shield and MLS Cup appearance only a few short years ago. Despite having big shoes to fill, Carnell has Philadelphia flying out of the gates in 2025 as he returns Philly to their hallmark style of pressing and direct play. In fact, he was hired to do just that after the Union front office deemed Curtain had strayed a little too far from that style for their liking. Carnell has the Union in the top 5 for both goals conceded and goals scored in 2025, which is obviously a recipe for success.

As mentioned, Philly and Columbus are polar opposites in terms of tactical approaches making this a fascinating match on Saturday.  The Union are built on pressing and defending high up the pitch and will look to do so as much as possible Saturday at home. Operating out of their 4-4-2 formation, Philly will use their strikers and outside midfielders to press Columbus in the Columbus half on Saturday. Despite their willingness and ability to fly around the pitch, the Union will initiate their press when certain triggers occur. Backwards passes, bouncing balls, poor first touches and players looking uncomfortable will kick start the Union press. When the pressure begins, it doesn’t stop until the pressure is broken or Philly wins the ball back. Look for Philly to try and funnel the ball into wide areas and use the touch line as an extra defender on Saturday. 

When they have the ball, the Union will keep it long enough to allow them to play forward. The Union are in the bottom half of the league in possession, but this is by design as they are set up to move the ball around long enough to create time and space for the ball to be played forward. 

The Union will also look to strike on the counterattack, and are probably one of the best in the league in doing so. When Philly win the ball back they’ll look to play forward as quickly as possible and runners will fly forward to join the attack. If you’d like to see an example, watch their first goal from their last MLS match against Montreal. 

How the Crew can win:

The Crew will definitely have their moments on Saturday. The Crew will likely have a lot of the ball and be able to attract Philly pressure easily on Saturday. For reference, this match will likely look similar to the Crew’s match against St. Louis earlier this season. Even though the Crew won that match, they’ll need to be even better in this one in order to take three points. If Columbus can execute the ideas below, there will be a lot of happy black and gold fans Saturday night. 

1. Play Through Pressure: The Crew are going to be under pressure early and often in this contest. Wilfried Nancy will be thrilled by this as his whole philosophy with the ball revolves around attracting pressure. Despite this, pressure also causes mistakes and Philadelphia has shown the ability to force and punish mistakes. The Crew need to use Philly’s pressure to their advantage, which can be much easier said than done.
    
2. Defend the Counter: Philadelphia is very good when counterattacking and Columbus is very susceptible to the counter thanks to the numbers they push forward in the attack. To be fair, the Crew are usually good in this phase, but Philadelphia is better than most and has the players to really hurt the Crew in transition. Look for the Crew to stop counterattacks before they begin by winning the ball back quickly after they lose it. 
   
3. Clinical in Front Goal: Both teams will have chances on Saturday, in fact, I think we’ll see a lot of goals. If the Crew are wasteful with their chances like they were against Miami, they’ll likely suffer the same fate. However, if they can convert their chances they could run away with this one.