The Philadelphia Union continues its 2026 MLS season Saturday night as they take on Nashville SC. In what many thought would be a match between two teams with ambitions to be the best in the East before the season started, only one team is living up to that.
Nashville SC sits in first place in the MLS Eastern Conference. They have 22 points from nine games, and sit just five points off the lead for the Supporters' Shield. On the flip side, the Philadelphia Union has five points from 10 matches, and is in dead last in MLS; Philly is just one point above Kansas City for last in all of MLS.
Is this a game between the eventual Supporters' Shield champions and recipients of the Wooden Spoon? Saturday night on the banks of the Delaware River will go a long way to determining that.
The Union is entering the territory of a broken club. The fall from winning the Shield last season to last place in the East is drastic, but also self-inflicted. This has been said by the club's fans plenty of times, but now former players are weighing in on the situation. If you haven't watched The Free Kick's latest video, where José Nuñez sits down to interview former Union centerback Ian Glavinovich, you should; Glavinovich perfectly sums up how the Union has crumbled from last year to this year.
Nashville was not in the running for the Supporters' Shield last season, finishing 12 points behind Philly; however, they did go on a run to win the US Open Cup. The momentum from that, and a first-round exit at the hands of Messi and friends in Miami, made this club want to build on its success and get better. They have done just that, hence their rise to the top of the East, almost one/third of the way through the 2026 season.
This matchup is truly a tale of two clubs. Both felt the success of winning a trophy last year. The only difference between the two was that one retooled to stay successful year over year, while the other blew up its trophy-winning team and fell from contender to laughing stock. Let's look a little closer at the Union's opponent, their projected tactics, and whether they can pull off the unthinkable and beat first-place Nashville.
Nashville used to be a scrappy, defensively sound team that looked to counter opponents to create attacks. If that sounds familiar to Union fans, it should. Nashville played very similarly to Philadelphia in its first few years in MLS. However, after little success, the club shifted its identity to be one that enhanced its ethos. Over the last two years, they brought in a fox-in-the-box striker, Sam Surridge, and an MLS-experienced attacking midfielder, Cristian Espinoza, who creates a lot of chances. This creates a "big three" with Hany Mukhtar and has led to Nashville's success in the early stages of 2026.
The Tennessee side is in first place in the East, with seven wins, one draw, and one loss, and a +15 goal difference. They are three points above second-place Miami with a game in hand. On top of that, they took the Concacaf Champions Cup (CCC) by storm. Nashville is in the semifinals of that competition, and on their run, they have beaten Miami and Club América (the first MLS team to ever win at the Estadio Azteca), and are now 1-0 down to Tigres after leg one of the semifinals. This team is looking to compete for trophies in 2026.
While they are in the middle of a CCC tie, they may be forced to rotate their team a bit against the Union. On top of that, they have four players listed as out on the Injury report, two of whom are starters, Eddy Tagseth and Sam Surridge. Does a rotated and banged-up Nashville side have enough to beat the Union at home, or will Philly be able to get their first win at Subaru Park in 2026?
The Union has not said it outright, but they are in desperation mode. With only five games until the almost two-month-long World Cup break. The club has focused on messaging that they will get back on track through calls to action. Head coach Bradley Carnell has preached this as a way to keep his team together to get the results that have slipped through their fingers early in the season. He'll need to have his team prepared for an organized Nashville side. Here's how I'd expect he may lineup his team.
Projected Union Starting XI:
GK: Blake
LB: Westfield CB: Makhanya CB: Sery RB: Harriel
DM: Lukic DM: Jean Jacques
AM: C. Sullivan AM: Vassilev
ST: Iloski ST: Alladoh
We know Carnell doesn't usually have a plan B for his side. They are to go out there and press the opponent into oblivion, taking advantage of transition moments to create attacks. That has been easier said than done in 2026, as his team consistently gets their tactic thrown in their face by teams that have figured this out and turn Philly over in their attacking buildup. It may come down to the Union players creating their own moments of brilliance to stop this cycle. Could that possibly happen vs Nashville?
If the Union wants to beat Nashville, they will have to execute in the scrappy moments. BJ Callaghan's side never backs down from a fight, so Carnell's boys will need to be smart in those moments. Finding the easy pass may be the key to victory; Nashville will allow the Union to press them, and then they will look for Philly to make a mistake in their buildup to create their chances. The Union needs to dump their affinity for making passes through traffic and find width in their attack.
This is something Philly has not done. Usually, they look to huff the ball up the pitch toward a striker and then try to win headers or second balls high up the field to create attacks. That's why there is always so much space in their disjointed midfield for opponents to counterattack. playing smart passes to open players, preferably in wide areas, could alleviate that pressure.
This match feels like one where both teams have something to prove. Rotated players for Nashville will want to show they can hang with the usual starters or injured players, while Philly's best XI will want to show their fans they can get them three points on home soil. Expect this game to be tighter than the table might suggest, given the circumstances. Maybe that's enough to power Philly to a first home win.
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