Union-Orlando City SC prediction: It’s likely to be ugly

It’s brutal timing for the Union to be one win away from tying the record for Major League Soccer’s longest regular-season winning streak.

The Union will need a big game from Joaquín Torres (center) on Saturday against Orlando.Read morePhiladelphia Union

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published March 25, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

When Union manager Jim Curtin said this week that he’d only have “four to five field subs” and a backup goalkeeper on the bench this weekend, he wasn’t kidding. Go through the team’s roster, count all the players who will miss Saturday’s home game against Orlando City (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, free), and you’ll do the same math.

It’s brutal timing for the Union to be one win away from tying the record for Major League Soccer’s longest regular-season winning streak. But the good news is Orlando also will be shorthanded, missing key players including goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, Wilder Cartagena, and forward Facundo Torres.

To be clear, it’s not really “good” news. MLS shouldn’t be playing through this FIFA window. But it’s not the Union’s choice, so they have to make do. Fortunately for the home team, the entire back line in front of Joe Bendik is intact because Cameroon didn’t call Olivier Mbaizo up.

At the other end of the field, Joaquín Torres and Mikael Uhre are going to have to put in big shifts. Uhre has only played more than 80 minutes in a game three times for the Union. This one likely needs to be his fourth.

UHRE MIKAEL UHRE

25 !!!! seconds into the second half and Uhre puts it away from the top of the box!#MTLvPHI 1-1 | #DOOP pic.twitter.com/R4xKUZQhho
— PhilaUnion (@PhilaUnion) March 19, 2023

In midfield, pushing Torres forward means Andrés Perea probably will play a more attacking role than usual — in a midfield of Perea, Alejandro Bedoya, Leon Flach, and Jesús Bueno. That isn’t much attacking juice, and the only bench options will be Matt Real and reserve Jeremy Rafanello.

Real’s versatility could come in handy late, though, especially if the game is close. Push him to left wing and stick Mbaizo high up on the right with Nathan Harriel behind him, and there’s enough width to make tiring Orlando players work harder.

If this is the first Union game you’ll ever watch, condolences. If you’re a veteran, you know it won’t be pretty. But it has to be a win.

Prediction: Union 1, Orlando 0.