Philadelphia Union v New England Revolution: Curtin looking to end ´unacceptable´ winless streak

Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin has urged his team to find a way to grind out a vital win when they meet the New England Revolution in MLS on Wednesday.

The Union sit bottom of the Eastern Conference having failed to win any of their last 10 matches, extending that streak against Toronto FC on Saturday as they conceded two quickfire second-half goals in a 2-1 defeat.

Their last win came against the Revs in mid-May, and Curtin has set the simple target of getting three points after admitting his team have not been good enough in the last two months.

“We’ve made some big mistakes and been punished for them. We haven’t been able to make the little plays to get over the hump,” Curtin said.

“It’s unacceptable how many games we haven’t been able to find a way to win and the way we’ve done it has been really disappointing. We’ve become very fragile, which is uncharacteristic of this group.

“It really comes down with us just finding a way to grind out a win, ugly, pretty, whatever it takes to put it behind us.”

Meanwhile, the Revs are one point better off than their opponents, sitting 13th in the table having lost their previous two matches.

They let a lead slip against Orlando City in their 3-1 defeat at the weekend, and head coach Caleb Porter hopes they can put their injury troubles behind them to get back to winning ways.

“We’ve got to find a way to get some points out of these next two games, even under the circumstances of where we’re at,” Porter said, as quoted in The Blazing Musket substack.

“And I believe 100% when we’re healthy – and we showed it in the four-game stretch – when we have our group healthy, that we can beat anybody in the league.”

Midweek Matchup at Subaru Park #DOOP | @CoorsLight pic.twitter.com/GhmNXuBVSv

— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) July 15, 2024

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Philadelphia Union – Daniel Gazdag

Daniel Gazdag has scored five career regular-season goals against New England, more than against any other team in his MLS career.

The five goals are also the most by any player against the Revs since the Hungarian joined MLS in 2021.

New England Revolution – Giacomo Vrioni

Giacomo Vrioni scored New England’s lone goal in their loss to Orlando City on Saturday and has now scored six of the club’s last seven goals, including the last three in a row.

MATCH PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA UNION WIN

The Union have won five of their last six matches against New England (L1, incl. playoffs) dating back to July 2022. The Revs had gone unbeaten in the previous five meetings between the sides (W3 D2).

However, the Union (D4 L6) are winless in 10 straight matches within a single regular season for the first time in club history. Philadelphia have won one of their last 17 matches, but that win came over New England in May.

Meanwhile, none of New England’s last 16 MLS matches have ended in a draw (W7 L9) dating back to the start of April. In fact, only one of the Revs’ last 26 league matches dating back to late September last season has ended level.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Philadelphia Union – 48.2%

Draw – 25.9%

New England Revolution – 25.9%