Photo: Mike Barrera of AAT Sports Network
What's been happening?
The Union are coming off a challenging road trip. They managed a 2-2 draw in Austin and then faced off against Portland with a shorthanded roster. Surprisingly, the Union took a first half lead and added two more goals in the second half. It was a shocking 3-1 win against a Timbers squad that is showing promise in the Western Conference.
We know that several Union players missed last week due to international duty. Most notably, Damion Lowe has matched the same number of appearances for Jamaica as his father. On Friday, Jillian Almoney from The One Team We Agree On podcast asked Curtin about Lowe's accomplishment, and you can check out his response below.
The biggest story of the week came from one of the Union's youngest prospects. Cavan Sullivan has been linked to Manchester City for some time now, and Philly fans received some outstanding news. It looks like Cavan will remain with Philadelphia for another 4 years! Tom Bogert from The Athletic shared some more notes regarding the historic deal for the teenager.
Finally, the Union have been away for some time, and it's great to see the Boys in Blue back in Subaru Park. Despite the early exit from the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the Union have earned 3 draws and a win in their MLS Campaign. Philadelphia and Minnesota remain unbeaten in the early portion of the season, and Curtin shared some of his thoughts on Philly's record and their mindset moving forward.
Betting Notes
The Union went through a scoring drought before their road trip, but they have now put in 5 goals over their last two matches. They will need to keep that output going today against a Minnesota side that has also netted 8 goals on the season. In terms of rotation, the Blue and Gold will be bringing back a healthy roster, while Minnesota will be missing Arriaga, Valentin, and Tapias. Of the three players, Tapias has logged the most time with 360 minutes so far this year.
As I say every week, I use Action Network to shop for the best lines. These numbers are coming from 12:30am on 3/30. Caesars has the best moneyline numbers for both teams, as they have Philly at -125, and Minnesota at +320. Considering the visitors have three wins on the season, that's a pretty enticing number if you think the away club can earn three points.
Action Network has provided the 2.5 and 3.5 game total for us today, and the over 3.5 can be hit at +140 on Draft Kings. Considering how juicy I'm seeing the 2.5 (over 2.5 at -170 on Fan Duel), the 3.5 number is also pretty interesting if you think this could be a shootout in Chester.
As always, the Across the Pitch Team has put together some picks for today's game. So far, we have found winners in each match, and Jose notched the Carranza Anytime Goal against Portland. Today, Jose is predicting a 2-1 Union win with Gazdag and Carranza scoring. For Dave, he also believes Philly secures a 2-1 win, and he has Julian and Mikael finding the back of the net. For me? Let's make this a little interesting. I'll do a parlay for the afternoon matchup. On Fan Duel: Union ML (-135) & over 1.5 goals (-650) is -101. Even money for a Philly win and at least two goals is a number I'm willing to bet on. Minnesota is missing Tapias, and the Union's backline has been flawed. Although I do believe Philly wins at home, I wouldn't be surprised if this is 2-1 or 3-2. Finally, I'll say that Quinn continues his great form and puts one in.
Here are some of the Anytime Goalscoring totals from FanDuel:
Gazdag: +105
Carranza: +110
Uhre: +150
Pukki: +175
Sullivan: +260
Harriel: +800
It's Kid's Day at Subaru Park. Let's see if the Boys in Blue give their young fans something to cheer about. Doop!
Mike Barrera (Mbarrera1323 on TikTok and Twitter)