When the Crew takes the pitch at PPL Park on Saturday evening, the side it sees opposite the halfway line might look a little unfamiliar.
That's because 203 days have passed since the Black & Gold last faced the Philadelphia Union, a staggering figure for clubs in the same Conference. Consider that the Crew's second-longest duration between meetings with another Eastern foe is 108 days, the timespan between the May 7 and August 23 battles against Houston.
In that timeframe, the Union has changed drastically, replacing John Hackworth with interim Team Manager Jim Curtin. Curtin has led the Union back into the chase for the MLS Cup Playoffs, compiling a 6-3-6 MLS regular-season record and spearheading a charge to the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. Crew Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter acknowledged the change in the club since the shift to Curtin, particularly praising the Union's defense.
"I think they have [changed]," said Berhalter. "It's a different look to the team. I think that they started really well under [Curtin] and they're still a good team. They have a lot of talent in the group. Defensively, they've become a little more secure. They've become a very good defensive team. They're going to be tough to break down."
Berhalter also credited the quality of the Union's roster.
"I think it's a strong team. I believe that," said the Crew boss. "When you look at their top guys, Conor Casey, Sebastien Le Toux and [Andrew] Wenger, it's a good group. You go through their midfield with Okugo, Maidana and Nogueira, it's a talented team. On the backline they have a National Team player in Maurice Edu, a Colombian National Team player [in Carlos Valdes] and two outside backs that are some of the fastest players in the League. Overall, it's a strong group."
With the Crew long-establishing that it plays the same type of game whether home or away, and the Union in the position of essentially needing three points to stay in the MLS Cup Playoff race, Saturday's game shapes up to be a clash of two sides that will not be afraid to take chances and go for the win.
"[Philadelphia] is a good team," said Bernardo Anor, who notched a brace in the clubs' first match-up this season. "They're going to come after us with a lot of pressure, but they're going to have to adjust to us. We like to play out of the back, we like to move the ball side-to-side and I think it's going to be an entertaining match. They're going to go for the three points and we're going to go for the three points as well. They have speed on the wings and we also have that. We have plenty of variety on the midfield, guys who can do different roles.
"It's important that everybody's on the same page and we do our best."
