Philadelphia Union v Columbus Crew: Match Preview and Betting Notes

Photograph Credit: Philadelphia Union

The Boys in Blue have their third game in seven days on Saturday night when they host Columbus Crew at 7:30pm. Let's briefly review the 4-3 Orlando defeat before prepping for our second meeting against the Crew.

Youth Movement

The injury bug continues to bite the Union, and they entered Saturday's match without Bueno, Sery, Blake, and Westfield. Unfortunately, Jovan Lukic also picked up an injury and was subbed out of the game in the first half. Orlando City went to work early and often against the Union, and miscues from Makhanya and the backline led to an early 2-0 lead for the Florida side. Honestly, it probably should have been 4-0 considering how poor the Union defense looked.

In the second half, we saw a more dangerous version of the Union. Cavan Sullivan had his best match in his MLS career, while players like Nathan Harriel and Ben Bender were dangerous in the attack. However, despite the improved offense, we still saw frustrating moments from the defense. After Iloski made it 2-1, his turnover allowed Spicer to bully his way through the midfield (and Martinez) and set McGuire up for Orlando's third goal.

Cavan's first MLS goal (off a nice assist from Bender) cut the deficit in half, and Bender's well-placed roller in the 78th minute made it 3-3. Then, just when you thought the Union would leave Orlando with a 3-3 draw, they found a way to disappoint their fanbase. Martin Ojeda would earn a brace in the 89th minute and secured another 4-goal victory for the Lions.

It's hard to be optimistic, but we did see some promising offense in the second half. Cavan was creative and dangerous, Nate's crosses and strikes were better, Ben showed promise on the left, and even Stas looked comfortable in limited time. The Union remain in last place, and if Philadelphia is gonna be a bad team, then I'd rather see the young guys playing. Their energy and creativity was the only thing worth watching on Wednesday evening.

Columbus Crew Preview

It hasn't been too long since the Union lost to Columbus at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. After the Crew's 2-0 win against Philly, they beat One Knoxville SC 4-1 to advance in the U.S. Open Cup. Unfortunately, things haven't gone well since that victory. Rydstrom's side has lost three straight games and has conceded three goals in each of those matches. That includes a 3-2 loss to Minnesota, 3-0 defeat to NYCFC, and a 3-2 loss to the RedBulls.

Columbus will hope to earn points on Saturday, but they haven't done that often on the road. The Crew is 1W-1D-5L in seven road matches with a -5 goal differential. However, it's not like Subaru Park has been a fortress of late. The Boys in Blue are 0W-2D-3L in Chester, PA with a -3 goal differential. Philadelphia used to be a juggernaut at home, but their only home win in 2026 was the 7-0 victory over Defence Force on February 26th. Yes, that's right. It's been 2.5 months since Philly won at home.

A part of the struggle for Columbus has been Daniel Gazdag's inefficiency. Wessam Abou Ali went down earlier this season with a torn ACL, and Daniel was a main beneficiary for Ali's minutes. However, the Hungarian midfielder only has 1 goal in 9 MLS matches and 1 goal in Open Cup. Also, Daniel's averaged a 6.06 rating on FotMob over the last three games, and his sloppy turnover against the Red Bulls led to New York's first goal. Columbus fans have been frustrated with Daniel since last year, and these poor performances will only add to those frustrations.

Overall, the recent struggles for Columbus have kept them out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. They're currently 3W-3D-7L with 12 points and occupy the 13th spot in the standings. Philly still has 6 points and trail behind Atlanta United (10 points). If I'm the Crew, I'm excited to face a short-handed Union side that just played a high-energy game in the Orlando heat.

Player Availability and Betting Notes

We have a long injury report for tonight's match. Jesus Bueno (ankle), Eddy Davis III (hamstring), Japhet Sery Larsen (shoulder), Quinn Sullivan (knee), and Frankie Westfield (hip) are out. Wessam Abou Ali (knee), Malte Amundsen (thigh), and Jamal Thiare (lower leg) are out. Dylan Chambost (ankle) is questionable. A good note for Philly is that Andre Blake is off the injury report. However, I'd like to see Andrew Rick get some more time in net. He really needs the minutes. Lastly, there are no card suspensions, but Makhanya and Sery are still on caution warnings.

The profitable betting continued on Wednesday night when Orlando Moneyline, Orlando over 1.5 goals, and Orlando First Goal all hit. Unfortunately, it was too easy to predict that the Union would struggle to stop a squad that can score at will. However, we have a bit more uncertainty this time around.

First, the Union are considerable favorites at Subaru Park. They're +125 to win, the draw is +245, and the Crew win is +190. Tie No Bet for Philly is -145 and +115 for the visitors. Lately, fading the Union has paid off in a big way, but I'm torn here for multple reasons. First, both teams played on Wednesday night and both were on the road. However, Columbus was in the comfortable climate of North Jersey, while Philly had to endure the Florida humidity. Next, both squads are dealing with injuries to key players, but I'd argue that Philly has it worse between the two sides. The backline has been an issue for a large portion of the season, but things were looking up with Harriel, Sery, Makhanya, and Westfield playing together. On Wednesday, Orlando picked apart the Union backline, with crucial mistakes from Makhanya and Martinez that led to goals. They accomplished this by playing directly over the backline, particuarly in the first half. Unfortunately, we saw Columbus use this tactic in their 2-0 victory over Philly. Both goals came from long distributions from the Crew's half of the field. Their goals also came down Philly's left side where Ndinga was playing. I'm not sure who Carnell plays at left back on Saturday night, but there's a real chance that Bender (who is not stout defensively) or Ndinga are placed in that spot. I'm confident that the Crew will try to attack that weak side again in Chester, so my play of the day has to be Arfsten 1+ Shot on Target at -130. Max had a great game against Philly in their first contest and finished with an 8.0 rating on FotMob. The American midfielder ended the night with 1 goal and 2 shots on target in 81 minutes. My only concern with this play is the possibility of rotation in the Columbus squad. However, if Max starts, then I expect him to be a focal point of the Crew's attack.

On paper, this is an ugly game between two teams that are banged up and playing poorly. Also, with the short rest, we may see some unsual lineups. The smart play here is to stick with Arfsten 1+ Shot on Target as my only play and be done with it. I will list some Anytime Goal Scorer options for you though. Rossi is +185, Iloski is +215, Damiani is +215, Gazdag is +295, Sullivan is +370, and Arfsten is +370.

Final Thought

Every game is a must win when you can't escape the basement of MLS. The Union can't seem to turn this season around, nor have they been able to win at home. If they fail to earn three points on Saturday night, then I'd expect the boo birds to be loud and passionate at Subaru Park.

After the match, join us for our post game show on AAT Sports Network. You can hop in the comments and follow along on Facebook and YouTube. Doop!